Green Eyes
by HavishamWard
Summary: My version of the mysterious love story of James and Lily Potter, beginning with the Prologue that explains how James felt about Lily during their first six years at Hogwarts. This story goes onto their seventh year, when James Potter finally won the heart of Lily Evans, finding that it wasn't nearly as difficult as it seemed to be.
1. Prologue

Prologue: 1971-1977

There are not many witches and wizards who believe in heaven, angels or anything remotely spiritual. Of course, it's a common custom of muggles and even some muggleborn witches and wizards, but most pureblood families were never familiar with the old stories of the Bible and some had never even heard of such a book. For a race that is so familiar to "impossible" things happening, these Bible stories never set much in store for them. Stories of a man called Samson and how his long hair had given him great strength. But when a lovely woman called Delilah betrayed his trust and cut his hair, it was believed that he would no longer have his strength to fight. But he prayed and he kept his faith—and bam!—a miracle happened and he's strong again and the bad people got what they deserved. Then there is the Virgin Mary giving birth in a manger, Moses parting the Red Sea, and so on. No, those are stories that muggle children learned if they were raised attending Sunday school and other church activities.

But there was a boy whose great grandmother was a muggleborn witch. Elizabeth Little told her son these stories and he told the same stories to his daughter, Helena. Of course, she told the common childhood tales of Beetle the Bard, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the Three Little Pigs. But she also heard stories that most young pureblood witches and wizards never heard; stories of angels appearing with news, miracles and the pearly gates of Heaven. So when the little Helena grew up and fell in love with another pureblood wizard called Atticus Potter (he had never heard of such stories, of course), she told their son the same stories of faith, angels, miracles and happy endings.

Therefore, James Potter is familiar with biblical stories, angels and miracles and all that rubbish.

It's rubbish, of course, because like so many others, he believed them to be stories, tall tales and dreams. How could it be possible for a bloke to never cut his hair? How can strength come from hair anyway? And some other bloke that can make a path through a sea in order to free his people of slavery? Of course, a wizard can do that, no probem. But an ordinary chap, I don't think so. And a virgin giving birth? In a manger no less, with animals? Please.

But it wasn't until James was eleven years old that these miracles, these angels—_he just knew it—_they had to be real. There wasn't a doubt in his mind now.

Enter one Lily Marie Evans.

The first time he saw her was at Platform 9 ¾, both of them ready to begin their schooling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was walking, but really, it seemed more like gliding because she's so graceful. He had never seen hair so dark red, curling at the ends and skin that glowed and eyes like that. Green eyes, no one had eyes like that, large and round and perfectly green. But most eleven year old boys don't really notice that girls are- well, _girls_- do they? But he noticed her. Everyone did.

She had this certain innocence about her; she was beautiful, pure and simply sweet.

Of course, James, being the obnoxious boy that he was, did not leave a good first impression when he first spoke to her on the train. He was nervous, after all. Not only because his hands would get all sweaty when he saw her (and that never happened before), but because he was starting school (finally!) and making friends and he was so anxious that he's certain that he had offended her and her friend, the slimy git. What was she doing, hanging around with someone like him anyway?

They were sorted into the same house and James Potter quickly learned that this Lily Evans girl was very nice, almost too nice, really. She was quiet and shy and almost always had a light pink tinge to her porcelain cheeks as if she were embarrassed about something, but no one knew what it was because it was her secret. She quickly became friends with everyone and by everyone, what I mean is _anyone_. These days, most Gryffindors wouldn't be caught dead with a Slytherin, but Lily Evans' best friend was a Slytherin boy by the name of Severus Snape. But James also learned that this boy (the same one from the train) grew up with Lily round home. He had known Lily before and called her by her first name, which James could not do, no way! So naturally, James acquired a certain loathing for the greasy black-haired boy, but would never admit to anyone, even himself, that it was jealousy.

While James and his friends were often found teasing and sometimes bullying other school mates (mostly Severus Snape), Lily was constantly helping others with homework and projects and most definitely staying out of detention. They had both quickly become popular students. James and the boys were known for causing all sorts of raucous around the school, but also for being very bright and top students of their year. Everyone loved Lily because she was just so kind and, being the muggleborn that she was, a very ambitious student. In third year, James was recruited as a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Lily was asked to join Professor Slughorn's Slug Club, to which she happily took advantage of.

So, during the first four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, James Potter mostly watched Lily Evans, admiring her from afar because he was far too embarrassed to admit that a tough, trouble-maker and quidditch star like him could ever have a weakness at all, let alone for that weakness to be a very pretty girl. Of course, they _had to_ engage in conversation here and there. They were, after all, in the same house and had many of the same classes together. As long as his friends weren't watching him, he was watching Lily Evans. And still he only called her Lily in his head; around everyone else and to her, she was simply Evans.

He often saw her with Alice Fortescue and Marlene McKinnon. Alice was a small girl with blue eyes and very blond hair that was cut short into a pixie cut while Marlene was rather tall, curvy, brown eyes, dark hair and olive-toned skin. The three were easily the nicest girls of their year, but also very pretty. Marlene was outspoken and Alice was painfully shy, so Lily was the balance in between. In addition to Alice and Marlene, she also still hung round Severus Snape, although less and less each term as James was pleased to notice. Alice was dead awful at Charms and in their fourth year, James had once even snuck into the library with his father's trusty Invisibility Cloak (unbeknownst to his friends, of course; he had his image to uphold) to watch Lily help Alice with her wand movements. He kept that to himself because really, how creepy was it that he needed to be invisible in order to be that close to her.

Around his friends and everyone else, James Potter was—well still is, really—loud, slightly obnoxious and definitely arrogant. His parents had a considerable amount of galleons in their vault at Gringotts and their house had seven bathrooms alone, if that gives you any idea how large their home was. He was good at everything; Quidditch, almost every subject, excluding Divination because, really, that was all a load of tosh. He was charming and a skilled linguist after being able to talk his way out of multiple detentions. His teachers praised his marks and talent on the field, and after several school pranks, James could have sworn he caught a glimpse of a few smiles on even the strictest of teacher's faces.

Sirius Black was James' closest friend. They had met on the train ride their first year and immediately hit it off. As well as James, Sirius was a pureblood. But Sirius was very unlike the rest of his family; they were cruel, believing that only the purest of blood wizards and witches were the only true kind and that halfbloods, and muggleborns were considered scum, garbage… nothing. They were the most known family who supported pureblood mania, as well as most of the Slytherin lot. But like the rest of his family, Sirius was very good-looking, often described as tall, dark and handsome and full of secrets by the girls who admired him at Hogwarts, excluding Lily, Alice, and Marlene who seemed to be immune to his charm. However, he milked it for all it was worth, and became known as "the womanizer". He was also loud and had this bark-like laugh and his speech usually dripped with sarcasm, but it was his temper that most people tried to avoid. He enjoyed fighting, welcomed it and was determined to win, even when practicing dueling with his friends.

Remus Lupin was tallest of the four friends and very thin and had this sort of quiet confidence. He was also the most level headed of the group, always being the voice of reason, but couldn't deny that he also enjoyed causing a little bit of trouble every now and then. Girls were also very attracted to Remus because of his blond hair and light green eyes. And the fact that he had secrets and everyone knew it and wanted to know them. His attitude towards this was that of indifference and he tried to play it off with humor, which attracted girls to him even more. But they didn't faze him one bit.

After Remus disappeared once a month for the first year of their time at Hogwarts, James and Sirius became suspicious of where their friend went off to. They just didn't buy his excuses about his mother being ill, not when she had been sending letters and packages about once a week, telling him that all was well at home. So naturally, they just asked him about it.

They were sitting at breakfast in the Great Hall one spring morning.

"So, Rem," James said casually as though he was just asking a question about the latest History of Magic lesson, "we were wondering—" he was cut off by a nudge in the ribs from Peter, "well, no, Sirius and I were wondering—ouch! Okay, okay," James was cut off again by Sirius' painful kick to the shin, "Okay, I was wondering then!"

James gave his other two friends a glare before turning back to Remus.

"Are you a werewolf then?"

The four boys were silent for a moment. Remus couldn't mask his look of shock either.

"Just curious, mate," Sirius added when Remus didn't answer, "Stupid question, really."

"You-you don't need to tell us anything!" Peter piped up with a mouthful of kippers.

It was a few minutes before Remus looked up from his food having thought about his answer, but it seems he couldn't think of an excuse. He had given his friends excuses for long enough now; it was time to trust them.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug, as if daring one of his friends to say anything about it.

A few minutes passed again while Sirius took a bite of his toast and chewed, nodding with his eyebrows raised, seemingly impressed. Peter looked rather frightened, but then shrugged. James grinned and reached across the table and clapped Remus on the back.

"Huh, I thought so," he said, proud of himself for his good guess. And that was the end of that.

And then there was Peter Pettigrew, who was the smallest of the group. He had blond hair as well and dark brown beetle like eyes. He was short and sort of chubby and definitely the quietest too. Everyone knew that he was part of the four best friends, but they also knew that Peter wasn't exactly the brains, the brawn, or the charm of their group; all three of those terms applied to his three friends and not at all to him, but this never seemed to bother him. He always laughed and encouraged his friends when the situation called for it.

But as time went on, James continued to have a hard time forming words when Lily Evans was around. It was almost as if she intimidated him. She was sweet and graceful and he was loud and boastful. And the words that did come out of his mouth were awful, sometimes downright rude. He would boast about his Quidditch skills, his last mark in Transfiguration or about anything really, just to make himself look good to her. But of course, it took the opposite effect. When this happened her brow would furrow just slightly, but she never said a word. He knew what she was thinking though. They just seemed to contradict each other in every way possible. But he loved to look at her.

They had separate lives that very rarely collided. James and his three friends, dubbed the Marauders, were always up to something. They discovered the kitchens in their second year, created the Marauder's Map during their third year and each participated in at least fifty detentions apiece during their fourth year alone. And especially after learning that Remus was a werewolf, they were bound and determined to join him on his monthly escapades in the Forbidden Forrest, so they set to work on mastering Animagus transformations, something that James found pretty easy.

They were quite busy, one would say.

So when it came to Lily Evans, James Potter mostly kept to himself. Well, he tried, anyways.

That is, until their fifth year.

The first day of term, he had seen her board the Hogwarts Express. Her hair was a little longer with this extra bounce when she walked, her legs a little longer and suddenly there was this lovely swell in her chest and a perfectly rounded bum that was definitely not there last year. Her skin, if possible, looked even creamier than before and he imagined that it tasted similar to strawberries and honey and she had the lightest dust of freckles across her nose, possibly from the summer sun. James also took notice that she might have been wearing make-up, which was new. He wondered why because he thought it was highly unnecessary for Lily Evans.

James felt a hard nudge in his ribs just then and was brought back to earth.

"Evans is looking fit, eh?" Sirius Black, his very best friend pointed out.

As if this needed pointing out to James Potter.

James didn't know this, but his best friend had his suspicions about James fancying Evans. After four years of the poor bloke messing up his hair and rubbing his palms on his jeans while (and only) when Evans was around, it becomes obvious. His friend had a tendency to lose his cool around this bird and that was unlike James Potter, the brave, outspoken and confident leader that he was. Sirius just wondered how long it would be now before James finally caved and admitted how he felt.

James gave a shrug and heaved his trunk onto the train and waited for Sirius to follow, trying his very best to hide the fact that he most definitely did agree with him. But Sirius did notice his friend's slightly red ears, a sign that Sirius had learned years ago that meant the James Potter was under pressure.

The first interaction James had with Lily that year was the next morning at breakfast when Lily appeared and was wearing said make-up again.

"Evans, what you wearing that stuff on your face for?" James asked rather rudely with a mouth full of toast.

He didn't mean to sound rude, but he saw her and it just came out, uncontrolled.

Her eyebrows lifted and it was barely noticeable, but James noticed, and her light pink cheeks turned a little pinker. Before she answered him, he spoke again.

"I mean, I just don't think you need it…" he said boldly, but because his friends were around, he added, "Trying to impress a few blokes, are you? Fat chance."

Her eyes flashed a brighter green that James had never seen before.

"Shove off, Potter," she said as rudely as she could and she rose from her seat and set off out of the Great Hall.

James was floored. That was probably the biggest reaction he had ever gotten out of her. And he found that he liked that shade of green in her eyes and liked even more that he was the one who made it that way.

The next day, he noticed, Lily was not wearing make-up.

Throughout the year, he had seen her hanging round Severus Snape less and less, but when he did see them together, something in him would snap and he would end up hexing him, which would cause Lily's temper to flare up, which was _just so cute _and would cause James to uncontrollably blurt a date proposition, which would in turn cause her temper to flare even more and it was a vicious cycle.

His friends had started teasing him about his fancying Lily Evans, but he didn't mind anymore. To them, he started calling her Lily instead of Evans, but definitely not in public for fear that everyone know just how much he did fancy her just by the way "Lily" rolled off his tongue.

And he was still the only person that could get a rise out of her, something he really secretly enjoyed.

But then there was this time by the lake after O.W.L. exams. Of course, he noticed her with a group of girls by the water and his actions with his snitch were not gaining her attention so he tried the next thing he could think of. His only intention was to get a rise out of her once again (well, and also to get at Snape for being Lily's friend, simply because he wanted to be her friend and he was jealous), but it backfired and for the first time, James was absolutely positive that he hated himself. The awful word had echoed in his head over and over again after Snape had said it.

_Mudblood_

_Mudblood_

_Mudblood_

He watched her long eyelashes blink once and his heart broke. The angry flash of green in her eyes that was directed at him was suddenly a sad sort of green because Snape, who had once been her very best friend, had hurt her feelings, and _that sadness_ he never wanted to see again. Ever.

So when he saw her in the Common Room that evening, it took all the confidence he could muster up to approach her and ask if he could have a word.

"I just wanted to say that I'm really, truly sorry for earlier," he had told her after pulling her away from her friends.

Her face, having gone from a cold, defiant mask, instantly smoothed out to her usual kind, beautiful face at his words. But she looked taken aback, as she should be. James Potter didn't often apologize, but he saw that this situation definitely called for it.

"He called you that foul name be-because of me and what I was doing to him, and-and I'm sorry," he added, looking straight into her green eyes. He watched as they softened and it looked as though all of her anger with him simply vanish.

Lily took a deep breath of air and sighed, "Th-thank you, Potter, but really it-it was him that used that word, not you."

"But if I just left him alone," he persisted, shaking his head, "he probably wouldn't have said it."

Very slowly, Lily put her hand on his arm and James felt warmth spread throughout his body.

"Well, I suppose this sort of thing was bound to happen, anyway," she said sadly, tears filling her eyes.

At first, James wasn't sure what she meant, but she continued.

"He- well, he sort of has this fascination with the darks arts," she admitted, removing her hand from his arm, allowing James to breathe again, and she shrugged sadly, "He's chosen his path... and I've chosen mine."

She gave him a small, teary smile before saying goodnight and heading up to the girls' dormitory. He stood frozen, staring after her.

And after that… Everything changed.

Of course, James still sent hexes and jinxes Snape's way, but he was a little more subtle about it and never did it while Lily was around. He also continued to cause trouble and was a mastermind of practical jokes that often took place at school, but James was maturing.

And eventually James, Sirius and Peter had finally mastered transforming into their Animagus forms and from the end of fifth year on, they were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.

During their sixth year at Hogwarts, James and Lily became something like friends. Well, they were friendly anyways. She would help him with Charms, although he didn't really need it, but he wasn't going to tell her that. And he found that she was a little clumsy at transfiguration, so he helped her too. They were still Potter and Evans to each other, however. And his weakness for the red-headed Lily only grew something closer to love, although he wouldn't tell anyone that bit, not even his three best friends, but they had their own suspicions. He had made it his lifetime ambition to know every possible thing about her.

She liked to read; her favorite book being a muggle favorite called _Anna Karenina_, whatever that was about. She was normally the first to arrive at breakfast. After learning this, he had started getting up earlier (to the annoyance of his mates) and he would sit across from her as she ate her bacon and fried eggs every morning. She had a cat named Ulysses, whom she swore was the best cat in the world, but James thought he looked rather ornery. She had an older sister named Petunia, which James had never known because he had never seen her when Lily's parents had brought her to Platform 9 ¾. (This subject seemed to be a sore one, however.) She drank tea with every meal and James saw her sipping on a cup of tea every evening before bed as well. Her father owns a bakery and his mother takes care of the business aspects. Lily works there while on holiday from school. Her favorite subject is Charms; however, her best undoubtedly Potions. (She also believes Divination is a waste of time.) When she's nervous, she starts to fidget just a little and bites her bottom lip. And much to his amusement, James noticed that she is constantly tapping the toes of her right foot; whether it's because she's impatient, bored or whatever he isn't sure, but it's almost like she has a song in her head and she's keeping with the beat. She's a quiet person (except for when James tends to rile her up, because he still does), but when she laughs, it's always loud and infectious. James wouldn't be anywhere near her, but he would recognize that laugh anywhere and it would always, _always_ make him smile.

So about halfway through their sixth year, James spotted the Hufflepuff prefect Amos Diggory leaning up against the wall, looking smug and tough. He was one bloke in the school who enjoyed charming the pants off birds then leaving them hanging high and dry.

James' eyes narrowed when he saw that it was Lily that Amos Diggory was talking to.

"What'd you reckon they're talking about?" Sirius asked James as they watched the pair from the other end of the corridor.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all had a free period and were waiting in the Entrance Hall for Frank Longbottom, and the five of them would be going to the Quidditch pitch for a quick ride on their brooms.

"Dunno," James said, not taking his eyes off of Diggory.

The four of them watched as Diggory very slowly lifted his hand and picked away a spot of lint from the front of Lily's sweater, close—too close for James' liking—to her chest. James' jaw clenched and his knuckles twitched, but he did not blink. He would keep his eyes on Diggory now for as long as he lived. It took all the strength he had not to march over there and break the two fingers Diggory used to remove said lint and tell him to move along. They also saw Lily flinch just slightly as if the motion frightened her, then her resolved changed and she was suddenly another two feet away from Diggory, but she still kept the conversation going. They were both prefects after all and needed to keep a professional relationship if they would be working together. Not so inconspicuously, Remus walked over to the notice board near Diggory's left shoulder and pretended to read the day's announcements. But while James watched his friend weasel his way into overhearing Lily and Diggory's conversation, Frank appeared next to him.

"What'ch you all lookin' at?" he asked, broomstick over his shoulder and looking in Remus' direction like the lot of them were.

James did not answer, but kept his eyes on Lily conversing across the hall.

"Waiting to find out if it's necessary for Prongsy here to go over there and rip ol' Diggory's head off for chatting up his bird," Sirius informed Frank.

Frank laughed at that, "Well, Diggory's nothing to worry about," he said, "it's that Smith from Ravenclaw you need to watch. Alice said Lily was pretty upset the other day because Smith made a pretty inappropriate proposition, if you will."

James' head snapped so fast in Frank's direction that he felt a crack.

"What'd he say to her?" he nearly growled, the tick in his jaw forming again.

"Bastard asked what color her knickers were and if she wanted to meet him in the broom cupboard on the fourth floor after Charms," Frank informed them, "But the Prewett's overheard and gave him one hell of a bloody nose."

"That's not all he'll get," James answered, his arms crossing angrily over his chest.

Before Frank could say anything else, Remus was making his way back over to them, looking grim.

"Well?" James asked immediately.

"He's asked her to the next Hogsmeade weekend," Remus said carefully, aware of the state James is in, "Really laid it on thick for her too, but she's not dim enough to fall for it, is she?"

"She told him no, then?" Sirius asked while James held his breath.

"She did say no to Hogsmeade with him," Remus said and they watched him take a deep breath, "But…"

"But, what?" Peter asked a little too eagerly.

Several people in the hall looked in their direction, but none of them seemed to care. This was their friend's love interest afterall, and could potentially become James' wife someday… well, if she ever accepted his date request.

"She's well, uh…" Remus began.

James waited for it, as patiently as he could.

Remus gave a great sigh and shook his head, "She's already going to Hogsmeade with Carter, that seventh year Ravenclaw."

The next morning however; Carter, Diggory and Smith all woke up with pussing boils all over their faces and even worse, blood-sucking leeches in their pants. Remus signed up to do Prefect patrols with Lily for the remainder of the year before anyone else could. And Lily Evans ended up going to Hogsmeade with Marlene McKinnon and Emmeline Vance.

Towards the end of their sixth year, James and Severus' constant feud escalated to its full height. Snape was also a member of Slughorn's Slug Club, where he would often see Lily at dinner parties and other functions the professor held down in the dungeons. This little fact made James insanely jealous and so of course, he (not a member of the Slug Club) either went to the party under his Invisibility Cloak and/or kept track of whoever came within a foot of her through the Marauder's Map.

On this particular occasion, James waited in the common room for Lily to emerge from the girl's staircase and he planned on following her to the party (under the Invisibility Cloak, of course). But when Lily came down wearing a dark green dress that showed off her long, slim legs and dipped in the front; advertising things to James that he hadn't had the priveledge of seeing when she wore her school uniform or her simple jeans and cardigan sweaters. Immediately, his palms were sweaty, his tongue heavy, and his heart hammered in his ribcage.

If he reacted this way, how would all the other blokes react when they saw how gorgeous she looked?

Her hair was done up in some sort of fancy knot and her eyelashes were thick and the green of her dress made her red hair pop, and her skin glow, and her eyes… those eyes—they just—

"Wow," he had said, kicking himself when he realized he said it out loud, but then he remembered that he wasn't going to this party, "you're not going out like that, are you, Evans?"

She blushed and looked down at her dress, "what'd you mean? Of course, I am! This is a dinner party and the Minister will be there."

"Well, yeah, it's nice, but-but… you're showing, uh, too much," he used his hands to gesture to her cleavage and long legs, legs that went on forever… he swallowed thickly, "that's too much, Evans."

She blushed furiously, "O-of course, it's not," she persisted, her eyes flashing that lovely, lively shade of green, "you should see Marly's dress, and Alice's too!"

"They're invited, are they?" James asked bitterly.

And then her brow twitched, the common thing that occurred when she was confused or disappointed, "Trevor Curtis asked Marly and, you know, Alice is in the Slug Club so she asked Frank, of course."

"So who'd you ask, then? Snape, I expect?" he asked then, still unable to mask his bitterness. He would need to suck up to Slughorn more.

"No, I didn't ask anyone," Lily said, temper rising, "not that it's any of your business!"

She turned and stomped furiously towards the portrait of the Fat Lady, but James hurried after her.

"At least put a sweater on, the walk might be chilly, Evans," he said, eager to keep her near him longer.

He just wasn't ready to lose her strawberry and honey scent quite yet.

She turned around so quickly James almost ran into her.

"You know what, Potter," she said, her thin finger pointing him hard in the chest, "_very briefly_, I thought about asking _you_ to the party with me tonight! But again, you prove to me that you're just the same pompous, arrogant, pig-headed boy as last year!"

She took a deep breath and James thought he saw tears in her eyes, but his mind was spinning from what she just admitted. She thought about asking him… huh, that was news to him.

"You-you didn't even tell me I looked pretty," she said quietly, eyes on the floor, before she turned around again and left the common room.

James, yet again, was floored. Had she wanted him to tell her she looked pretty? Did she really care what he thought? He had been asking her out for over a year now and she always says no… so why would she think about asking him to a Slug Club party and why would she care if he thought she looked pretty? And of course, he thought she looked pretty. He thought she always did. Beautiful, gorgeous even. There was no one else as pretty as she was. He snapped out of his thoughts and quickly pulled out the small mirror from his pocket.

"Pads," he said to the mirror.

It only took a second for Sirius' face to appear in the mirror, "here, Prongs, she left yet?"

James nodded to the picture of Sirius in the mirror, "Just stepped out the portrait hole. I'm on my way through now with the cloak. Wormy with you?"

There was a scuffling noise and then suddenly Peter's pimply face appeared next to Sirius' handsome one.

"Here," Peter squeaked, then tried to mask it by clearing his throat.

"Okay, stay in place, I'll be there in a few," James told them as he walked down the corridor himself and made his way down to the dungeons after Lily.

He placed the mirror back in his pocket before pulling out a thin, silvery cloak from under the back of his shirt. He covered himself with the cloak and seemingly disappeared.

He caught up with Lily when she was near the first floor.

Godric, of course, she looked beautiful, how could she not?

He followed her until she reached the dungeons and a door was magically opened for her before she walked into the party, James right behind her, invisible.

He walked around the party, trying his best not to bump into anyone. Lily was right about the Minister attending this party, but there were also a few other important people here from the Ministry that James recognized since his father and mother were well-known Aurors. And finally, James saw Snape standing in the very far corner, Avery and Mulciber on either side of him, but they weren't the only ones. Regulas Black, Sirius' younger brother, was there as well. The four of them looked rather bored, but James did notice that Snape's eyes followed Lily across the room as she visited with people, seemingly enjoying herself. Looking around the room some more, James caught sight of a very pimply and heavy, looking uncomfortable in his dress robes, fifth year by the name of Cody Baxter, from Hufflepuff. James smiled to himself and made his way over to him.

"Wormy, that you? You look dreadful," he muttered in his ear.

Cody Baxter jumped and gave a small yelp of surprise, "Merlin, Prongs, you've scared me half to death! Don't do that! You and Sirius are always doing that to me!"

James chuckled a little, but told the disguised Peter to keep it down; someone would think he's talking to himself.

"People think you're odd enough as it is, don't they? You needn't any help, Wormtail."

"Ha Ha," was all Peter responded before Sirius appeared, adjusting his tie.

"Where've you been, then?" Peter asked him.

"Laurel Richards just met me in the closet in the corridor," he informed, with a wolfish grin, "she was kind enough to invite me to this shindig, it'd be poor manners if I'd ditched her without a quick snog."

"So how was it, then?" Peter asked eagerly, but James cut him off.

"We haven't the time, Wormtail, we need to stick to the schedule," he told them, "We need to keep our eyes on Snape or any other tosspot who throws themselves at Lily."

"Right, she looks lovely tonight, by the way," Sirius said and nudging James in the ribs and wiggling his eyebrows, he added, "maybe I'll go chat her up, Prongs."

James glared, but knew Sirius enough to know he was joking, "You'll do no such thing, if you know what's good for you, mate."

Before the other two could answer, there was some commotion from the other side of the room and the three of them looked up to find Lily in a heated conversation with Snape. Avery, Mulciber and Regulas were nowhere to be seen. James' eyes narrowed in on the grip Snape had on her upper arm and he bolted towards them, Sirius and Peter on his tail, even though they couldn't see him, but of course, they knew James would be making his way over, fuming.

When James was close enough to hear them, he caught a few words.

"Get out of here, Lily," Snape had said, "you weren't supposed to come. Malfoy—"

"I don't give a damn about Malfoy, and get your hand off me," Lily spat at Snape, yanking her arm from his grasp.

"If he sees you, he'll—"

"He'll what?" Lily interrupted again, temper flaring and eyes blazing, "Tell that mad old tosser you all worship?"

"Lily, watch your tongue, someone will hear!"

"Let them hear!" She persists, "I'm not afraid to call him what he really is, _Snape_, and I'm not ashamed of-of _what I am_! I can fight just like the rest of the students here at Hogwarts and just like any witch or wizard anywhere!"

"Just-just go, Lily," Snape pleaded.

She didn't leave, but she didn't respond for a moment. James' heart swelled with pride while hearing Lily stand up against Snape, who everyone knew he was getting in deep with the Dark Arts.

"What are you planning? What's going on, Snape?" She looked around frantically at all the people in the room and James followed her gaze.

People were chatting, drinking and carrying on. Nothing seemed amiss at all.

But before Snape could answer her questions, Avery had appeared at his shoulder, "Find something to play with, have you, Severus?" He eyed Lily's figure approvingly and slowly stroked a long-nailed finger down her bare arm.

Lily's face was set in a defiant glare, but James saw her take a small step away from Snape and Avery and James himself moved towards them, ready to pounce should the need arise.

"Just having a friendly conversation," Snape responded coldly.

Before James could hear Avery's response, Sirius had suddenly appeared next to Lily carrying two glasses of butterbeer.

"Ah, Evans, there you are," Sirius said loudly, breaking up the tense moment, "I've been looking for you!"

Lily looked confused for only a moment before taking the offered drink from Sirius.

"O-oh, right," she said, "thanks, Sirius."

Sirius smiled down at her, "ready to meet Anna Babbitt? She's an old friend of the Potter's and comes round for dinner every now and then."

"You know her?" Lily asked excitedly, seemingly forgetting the row she just had with her former best friend, "She's the most celebrated Healer at St. Mungo's! But how do you know her?"

Sirius and Lily continued to ignore Snape and Avery, who still stood there listening and looking awkward.

"I told you, flower," Sirius continued, "an old friend of Helena Potter, you know, James' mum. Nice gal, I'll introduce you."

"James' mum? But- but she's not here, is she?" Lily asked nervously.

James didn't have long to wonder why exactly Lily was nervous at the thought of meeting his mother; she was a nice old gal after all. His thoughts went to Sirius and how glad he was to have a friend like him, who knew that James would want to intervene and also knew it was best if he didn't do such thing since he wasn't supposed to be at this party in the first place. Not that that really mattered since he would risk any amount of trouble if it meant that Lily wouldn't be bothered or harassed by anyone.

Snape suddenly grabbed Lily's glass of butterbeer from her hand, "Run along, Black, we were having a conversation before you butted your way in."

Sirius looked coldly at Snape, "I'm sorry, but it didn't look as though Evans was particularly enjoying the conversation, _Snape_," he spat, temper rising, "the way you had your hands on her, you're damn lucky it's me interrupting you and not James."

"Let's go, Severus," Avery interrupted, "What are you doing talking to the Mudblood anyways? Leave her with the filthy blood traitor. It's lucky Regulas is nothing like you, Black… he's proving to be very useful."

James took several steps toward Avery as the dirty word left his mouth. He had every intention of taking down Avery, forgetting that he was a wizard completely and could easily hurt him from where he stood. But there was something about doing the damage himself and not by using his wand. But suddenly , James couldn't move. He was frozen mid-stride and he couldn't even blink. Damn Padfoot and his ability to master non-verbal spells.

He watched as Sirius glared at Avery and Snape, "Why don't you go and get us another drink, Evans," he said to Lily, not taking his eyes off the other two, "Go on, now, I'll be along in a moment to introduce you to a few folks."

Lily took a few minutes to look between them as she thought about listening to Sirius or not. Reluctantly, she did and disappeared through the crowd.

"I know what you're doing," Sirius spat at them both, "you'll want to watch it. Stay away from my brother."

Avery scoffed impatiently, "I've had enough of this; this party is boring," he said, turning to walk away, "Zabini's waiting for me back at the common room, Severus."

When Sirius and Snape were left alone, Sirius continued to glare him down, but Snape spoke first.

"And what will you do, Black, if your little brother continues hanging round us?" he said coldly, "Are you going to hurt me? Throw a few jinxes my way… that's the best you and _Potter_ can come up with."

"You'll get worse than that."

"Oh, please," Snape scoffed, "I've created worse spells than you've even read about, seeing as you actually _can't_ read!"

"I hear you're awfully interested in why Remus Lupin leaves school every now and then?" Sirius interrupted him loudly.

James suddenly felt panic rise up inside of him. When Sirius was angry enough, he tended to look for revenge and sometimes these insane ideas just came to him. And he spoke without thinking. James frantically tried to reverse the freezing spell that Sirius had put on him, but it was no use. He was still practicing his non-verbal spells.

Snape's eyes grew wide and he wore a curious expression, "Are you going to tell me, Black?"

Sirius laughed, loud and booming, "I'll tell you how to find out for yourself, Snape…" he said, "It's very simple. All you need to do is crawl under the whomping willow and there you'll see this little knot. All you need to do is push and the tree will freeze—" Sirius began to laugh again.

"You're full of it, Black!" Snape said angrily, "You think I'll believe that rubbish?"

James watched as Sirius walked away laughing loudly, leaving Snape standing there looking utterly confused and bewildered. James just hoped that Snape truly didn't believe what Sirius had said, as silly as it sounded; it was the truth. The knot under the willow was exactly how they've been able to sneak into the forest in their animal forms. There was a tunnel under the willow that led to the Shrieking Shack, which was supposedly haunted, but really it was only the screams of Remus Lupin that the villagers in Hogsmeade heard on nights of the full moon.

James was lost in his worries and didn't realize he could move again until Lily's laugh sounded throughout the party. Sirius had indeed introduced her to Anna Babbitt, who seemed to be impressed by Lily's charm and wit.

"Sirius, I didn't know you had a girlfriend," she said, laughing at something Lily had said.

Sirius was quick to respond, "Oh, no, Mrs. Babbitt," he said, "she's not mine." And he leaned in close to her so Lily couldn't hear, but James was close enough behind Babbitt to hear, "She's James' girl, although she doesn't know it yet."

Anna Babbitt laughed loudly again.

During the remainder of the party, James kept his eye on Snape, who seemed to be waiting for the perfect time to leave. He needed to make sure that Snape wouldn't take Sirius' words literally, so he constantly followed him around the room. When James found Peter, still under the influence of Polyjuice Potion as Cody Baxter, he informed him of what Sirius had told Snape and Peter kept his eyes on Snape too, just in case he slipped away unnoticed.

So when it seemed that Snape actually didn't pay Sirius any mind, the three of the four Marauder's made their way down to the grounds (after making sure Lily was safely walked back to Gryffindor Tower, of course), all of them trying in vain to squeeze under the cloak to remain unseen. Peter had just transformed into his rat form and stopped the willow from moving when Snape had appeared from behind another large tree nearest them.

"Well, well, well," he said triumphantly, "Look what I've caught… and Lily didn't believe me. I've been telling her for weeks that you've been sneaking around on the grounds after hours."

James thought quickly, "But you're out after hours, too, Snape," he said coldly.

Luckily, it didn't seem that Snape had noticed that Peter was suddenly a rat and that he's the one who caused the willow to freeze. To him, it probably looked as though it was only James and Sirius that were sneaking around.

"I've waited too long for this," Snape went on, ignoring James' comment, "you'll be expelled surely, since you've been at this for years."

James took a step forward, but Snape lifted his want towards him so he stopped and held his hands up, "Alright, Snape, just relax, my wand is in my pocket. But you've got it wro—"

"Shut it, Potter!" Snape interrupted, voice rising, "I'm going in there… but you'll lead the way. I'm going to finally find out what you four have been up to all this time. I know there's something funny about Lupin."

"You've got it wrong, I'm telling you," James said again, more firmly. He wasn't about to let his friend's secret to be known by a rotten snitch like Snape.

Sirius took a step forward as well, but Snape's wand was on him quickly, "Not one step, Black, you won't stop me."

With Sirius' movements distracting Snape, James was quick enough to retrieve his own wand from the pocket of his jeans and pointed it back at Snape, who pointed his again straight at James' chest.

"Go, Padfoot," James told Sirius, "Moony needs someone other than Wormtail."

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Sirius back away slowly before he ducked under the willow and out of sight. It was only a few seconds before James and Snape started dueling. But of course, their dueling had caught the attention of Professor McGonagall and she rushed out of the castle in her nightdress and cloak and put an end to it. The duel went on long enough, however that it left both James and Snape with bloodied lips and noses and several bruises.

And this is the situation they currently found themselves in.

It was around five 'o'clock in the morning and James, Sirius, Peter and Snape were all sitting in chairs in front of Dumbledore's large desk.

"It's my fault, Professor," Sirius spoke after Dumbledore waited for an explanation, "I-I thought that Snape here might've been, uh, persuading my brother to-to—I don't know! He's been hanging round Snape, Avery and Mulciber an awful lot and they're going to turn him into one of them!"

James waited for Sirius to explain further. He understood why his friend had done this… he and his brother may not be close, as Sirius ran away from his home last summer to live with the Potter's, but they were brothers after all. But the bottom line is this; Sirius betrayed them all by telling Snape how to find out about Remus' secret. He put him in danger and also risked the danger of them all getting caught in their Animagus forms.

"You will all serve detentions every evening until the end of term," Dumbledore said after all the explanations were given, "And Mr. Snape, you will lose Slytherin fifty points for your behavior. I trust from now on that you will keep yourself out of other people's business and I think you should realize that if it weren't for Mr. Potter, you would likely be suffering serious injury," he paused while Snape soaked this in and then turned to Sirius, Peter and James, "Mr. Black, you will lose Gryffindor one hundred points for your, for lack of a better word, stupidity. What you did tonight could have ruined your friend's life, as well as your own, had Mr. Snape been seriously injured or killed. I hope this will teach you to put your friends' lives and feelings before your own from now on."

Sirius nodded gloomily.

"And Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Potter will each lose fifty points for Gryffindor for their being out of bounds passed curfew," Dumbledore went on, "Now, I trust that you are all in need of rest. Mr. Snape, you may go to the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey will fix you up right. Mr. Potter, if will stay, please, and the rest of you are dismissed."

James stayed behind as requested, but still was unable to look his headmaster in the eyes.

"James, what you did tonight was very admirable," the older man said, "I am aware of the feelings that you and Severus Snape harbor for each other and, I think, that most people would not even allow their minds to think about saving their enemy from a danger such as the one Severus Snape almost faced tonight."

"With all due respect, sir," James interrupted, "I was more concerned with how this would have effected—or will effect—Remus, sir. He's going to be very disappointed in us. He trusted us with his secret. And now Snape knows."

Dumbledore nodded, "I think you should trust that Snape will keep this secret."

So James did.

And of course, Remus was livid about the entire situation. But level-headed as he was, he also understood why Sirius had giving Snape directions on how to get under the willow. The four of them were angry and tired. There was some yelling (mostly by Remus), but in the end the four friends just agreed to put this behind them. They were true friends after all, and it was important to trust your friends when needed, but also to forgive them too.

So the next morning, when James went down to breakfast early to find Lily at the Gryffindor table alone, chewing on a piece of bacon while reading a chapter from their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. He smiled as he watched her, looking as lovely as every day he had seen her before. Her long red hair was braided today and she was wearing jeans and a green cardigan and he wondered why she wouldn't have a lie in on a Saturday like everyone else.

He approached her and he plucked up all the courage he could as he planned on calling her by her first name, the name of an angel, for the first time.

"Good morning, Lily," he said with a smile as he sat across from her.

She swallowed her bacon and smiled at him in return, "Good morning, James."

And the sound of own his name had never sounded so sweet before.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or favorite'd and followed the last chapter. I hope I can get a few more after this one.

Disclaimer- Jo Rowling is Queen of the Universe and owns Harry Potter as well as James and Lily; therefore, I do not.

Chapter One: Summer 1977

It's typical for teenage boys to be reckless. But this situation is, by far, the most reckless thing these two black haired seventeen-year-olds have ever been involved in… which is saying something. These boys in particular have planned and caused many pranks at their school; exploding toilets, suggestive banners placed here and there, and on occasion, other student's possessions mysteriously gone missing then found in the strangest of places. They have snuck out of their dormitory after hours, sometimes for the entire night if that night was a full moon.

Of course, they would tell you that they did all of these things to people who deserved it.

Corey Daniels is a Hufflepuff in their same year. When Peter overheard Corey telling his friends about taking a peak up Marlene McKinnon's skirt, Peter told Sirius, who of course would want to know. Sirius had this sort of crush on Marlene and everyone knew it, but he wasn't the type of person to really do anything about it. But if someone else did something about it; naturally, he had to put a stop to it. So the following day, when Corey Daniels came into Defense Against the Dark Arts for class, he wore a pretty sour expression on his face. It wasn't until Professor Buckley asked him to read to the class about Defensive Spells, that the class understood what he was so sour about in the first place. His voice, normally deep and masculine even for a sixteen-year-old boy, was suddenly high and squeaky and very much like a five-year-old girl's. It stayed like that for an entire month before Sirius finally took pity on him and reversed it.

The Marauders were known for their pranks and mischief, but they also were the top four students of their year, and for James and Sirius, that was without opening a book. They were each gifted at different things; James in Transfiguration and defense, Sirius in dueling and non-verbal spells, Remus in Herbology and Healing spells, and even Peter had a knack for Charms, although he was being tutored by Lily Evans for a while which helped. James was the first to master the Animagus transformation (very dangerous for an underage wizard, not to mention illegal), and then Sirius and they had to help Peter for a month before he achieved success. After that, they were able to sneak around the grounds more easily; joining Remus on his full moon, but also sneaking down to Hogsmeade and fooling Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks to let them have some firewhiskey.

But this incident was by far the most dangerous that James and Sirius had ever found themselves in.

It was a very hot day in August, about three weeks before their seventh and final year at Hogwarts would begin. They had been out and about in Muggle London, looking for fun simply because they were bored and boredom for a Marauder was never a good thing. But of course, they caused a bit of raucous at one of the popular downtown pubs, simply because they couldn't quite figure out what the silly rectangular table with the green felt and different colored balls were for. They had tried watching a group of large, beefy and quite smelly men in order to learn, but they just got offended and started a row with them. Sirius, being Sirius, fought back and was eventually hit over the head with a beer bottle and that's when the brawl really started. And James, the loyal friend that he was, stood by his friend and was able to throw in a few punches (he knew better than to use his wand in particular company) before they heard the silly sounds of the Muggle police cars coming their way.

"Oy, you lot!" the bartender yelled their way, "Break it up! You'll ruin my pub!"

Sirius was in a headlock by one man with extremely large and hairy arms, but he managed to step on the bloke's foot which caused his hold to loosen, then Sirius was able to break free.

"Let's go, Pads," James said after throwing one last punch to the bloke he was fighting, "We've got to get out of here."

James watched as Sirius aimed one last hard kick between his opponents'' legs before the man collapsed to the floor in pain, his voice a little higher than it was before. Sirius straightened up, rolled his shoulders and turned around to face James.

"Right, let's go, then," he said as if this was something they did on any Friday night. And he lead the way towards the door, James behind him.

Sirius mounted his prized motorbike before turning around and handing James the white helmet, which James knew was normally worn by some girl.

"Padfoot, really?" James said, eyeing the helmet with disgust, "I wouldn't be caught dead in that… and I told you before, I'm not riding behind you like some bird—"

But James was cut off by the sirens and the blue and red flashing lights that had just rounded the corner on the street, coming right towards them.

"We haven't the time, Prongs," Sirius said, a hint of panic in his voice, "hop on!"

James wasted no time in listening to Sirius, jumping on the back of the motorbike and grabbing Sirius around the waist as the bike bolted into movement. They sped and weaved between traffic, the Muggle police right behind them, sirens wailing.

"C'mon, Pads," James said, "They're right behind us! Speed up!"

"It'd be faster without your fat arse!" Sirius yelled back. But he was clearly enjoying this, as Sirius loved any type of excitement, no matter how dangerous.

They continued to weave until finally they came to a straight shot and Sirius was able to speed up as fast as the bike would go. But there were still three police cars chasing them.

"Use the charm, Padfoot," James instructed his friend, "or we'll never lose them!"

Sirius hesitated, "They'll see us! We could be expelled!"

"This is a situation that calls for it, I think!"

Sirius took a moment, apparently thinking over his decision.

Earlier that summer, James had found this broken down motorbike in some junkyard in the town nearest the Potter's home. He knew that Sirius had always had a thing for Muggle transportation and together they fixed it up. It was a good distraction for James as he tended to be somewhat down in the dumps during Holidays (Sirius said it was because Evans wasn't around to yell at him) and Sirius just enjoyed tinkering with things. Eventually, they fixed the bike up and were able to ride it, but that wasn't quite good enough for Sirius. So he made the bike fly, of course.

"Do it, Sirius!" James yelled again.

Sirius punched the purple button and they were shot upwards into the night sky, the police cars screeching to a stop on the pavement below them.

James and Sirius hooted and laughed, punching their fists in the air triumphantly.

They landed in the lot of Potter Manor about a half hour later, both still laughing about the excitement they had just experienced.

"That was excellent, Prongs!" Sirius said, shutting down the bike and pushing it into the shed.

James laughed, "Probably the best— Oh shit…" James muttered under his breath when he noticed his mother standing on the back step of the large house.

Helena Potter was an older woman. She and her husband, Atticus, were very well known Aurors, having caught several of the more infamous lawbreakers of the wizarding world. They were very old for having a son of just seventeen years; most people their age had grandchildren and great-grandchildren by now. They had tried and tried for children when they were first married, but had given up hope after all those years. But then, a miracle happened, and Helena was pregnant at sixty-two years old. Now nearly eighty, she was one of the kindest women that anyone has ever met, but there was only one thing, one person that could make her lose her cool (much like Lily Evans, ironically). She stood there, arms crossed tightly over her chest, something James often did when he was upset too. Her foot was tapping angrily on the wooden step she stood on, a sign that this was surely nothing good.

James nudged Sirius, who followed James' line of sight until his eyes caught his own mother for all intents and purposes.

"Oh, bloody hell," he muttered, face paling to match James', "this can't be good, can it?"

They walked slowly towards the house, taking their time before their short lives would surely end.

"Hey, mum," James said nervously, ruffling his already perpetually untidy hair, "you're up late."

"You bet you arse, I'm up late, James," Helena said coldly, eyes narrowing, "Alastor just appeared in the fire and do you have any idea what he's told me, boys?"

James and Sirius chanced a glance at each other, each of them trying to look dumbfounded, as though they really had no idea why Alastor Moody would appear in the fireplace, because this happened a lot since Alastor was their fellow Auror at the Ministry. But of course, Helena Potter was used to James' attempt to play innocent and she definitely knew her son was _anything_ but innocent.

"He told me that there were two boys, who looked much like yourselves, if fact, spotted by six Muggle polices officers flying an enchanted motorbike," she told them, foot still tapping angrily, "tell me, that couldn't have been you, could it? There are many other boys who've enchanted a stolen motorbike, isn't there?"

Neither James nor Sirius answered, their eyes trained on the ground and feet kicking around imaginary rocks.

"Into the house now!" Helena shouted when the boys didn't answer.

The boys immediately followed. They were seated at the kitchen table while Helena Potter went on with her punishment.

"Just wait till your father gets home!" she shouted, "You're seventeen, so of course, you won't get any punishment from the Ministry, but that doesn't mean you're not in the clear in this house, you hear?"

James and Sirius nodded gloomily.

"You know the drill," Helena continued, her hand outstretched towards the two boys.

James and Sirius heaved great sighs and each reached into their pockets for their wands, reluctantly handing them over to their mother.

"There," Helena said, "you'll get them back when I see fit. Starting in the morning, you'll be doing dishes, laundry, de-gnoming the garden, painting the garden fence and helping Alastor next door with any of his chores. Oh and you'll be peeling potatoes for supper tomorrow night, the Prewett's are joining us."

James and Sirius groaned. The Prewett family was made up of seven people, two of them Fabian and Gideon, who could eat enough for five people between them. That's a lot of potatoes.

"Oh, quit with the moaning," Helena scolded, "you think you'd have learned your lesson the last six times we've done this."

And she sent the boys off to bed after feeding them up with hot bowls of onion soup and fresh roles of bread, proving that she wasn't really that upset with them.

James fell asleep almost immediately; tired from the day's events, dreading tomorrows and with thoughts of red hair and green eyes clouding his mind.

Thousands of miles away, in a town called Cokeworth, Lily Evans was alone in her room. She sat on the corner of her bed and took in her surroundings. She and her father had painted her room this light yellow color when she was thirteen-years-old and her mother had gotten her the oak desk that sat closest to the window after Lily was accepted at Hogwarts. She smiled sadly at those memories, for that's all they were now. Happy memories of the parents she will never see again.

And she will never see them again, of course, because they were killed only hours ago in a car accident while driving home from their weekly date night.

George and Caroline Evans left their daughters with the bakery to run (which Petunia had already made plans to sell), their home (again Petunia planned to sell) and all of their belonging, which neither of them knew what to do with. For the first time since she met him, Lily was actually grateful that Petunia was engaged to Vernon Dursley, even though he was a great big idiot. Vernon had already made arrangements for collectors to come and move the things that neither Petunia nor Lily wanted to keep for themselves. But as Petunia had already had a home she shared with her fiancée, Lily had no other alternative to where she could keep many of her parents' keepsakes, so she chose only a few small things that meant something to her. Her mother's favorite sweater was a mint green cardigan with small white flowers embroidered in the front and since Petunia wasn't interested, she kept her mother's wedding ring as well. Lily also felt the need in keeping her father's teacup that he kept on his desk in the study, as well as a half-full bottle of cologne and several of his favorite novels.

For the first time in years, the Evans sisters seemed to be on the same page. Lily and Petunia were to split their parent's money left in their bank account and they would also split whatever was left after selling the house and the bakery, as they were sure neither of them could keep any of the two on their own. Well, it was more lack of interest on Petunia's part, but Lily didn't have the means to do so since she had yet another year of school to finish.

So Lily Evans was alone in her dead parent's house, with her head on her pillow, sobbing herself to sleep.

The next day, much to the disappointment of James and Sirius, was even hotter than the day before and the two boys found themselves in the garden, painting the fence… without magic. They had finished with the laundry and the pile of dishes (they were theirs anyways, since all they did was eat; they were growing boys after all) and they also managed to de-gnome the garden before lunch time, when Helena brought them sandwiches and pumpkin juice, a sly smile on her face.

After lunch both boys had been forced to take off their shirts as the sun was at its highest and warmest of the day. They could feel their skin burning, but neither of them cared. They weren't dumb enough to take a break or quit working altogether when Helena Potter was around. And since the news of last night's events was printed in The Daily Prophet (their names were left out thankfully), they were woken earlier by Atticus Potter, yelling at the top of his lungs about the trouble they caused for the Ministry.

"Six Memory Modifying Charms!" He had shouted, "All because of your stupidity! Six! And my own sons! You know, they're making a mockery of me in the office! You're in trouble now, boys!"

It didn't take much for Atticus Potter to get angry, but when he did, the boys knew they weren't to argue.

"You know," Sirius began to speak as they made their way to the house after Helena called them in to get cleaned up, "I reckon we don't do that again, eh?"

James nodded, wiping sweat off his brow, "I reckon, yeah."

"Bloody worse than last time, wasn't it? And that time we snuck into Moody's just to give him a fright? That time, we only had to rake and mow the grass… mind you, your yard is huge, and so it took an entire day!"

"Tell me about it, mate," James agreed, "There's nothing worse than folding mum's knickers without magic, is there?"

After getting cleaned up and Helena rubbing some burn soothing lotion on their necks and shoulders, she shooed them off to the kitchen and they began peeling several pounds of potatoes. This was often a regular occurrence at Potter Manor. Atticus and Helena loved to have their friends over for dinner and it happened about three or four times a week. The Prewetts came the most often. Ashford and Agatha Prewett were very well known in the wizarding world, having both worked with James' parents for the last twenty years. They have five children, although four of them were full-grown and had families of their own. Molly, Martha (who was known as Twiggy), Hilton and Buford were the oldest. But Gideon and Fabian were the same age as James and Sirius and were in Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. James had always liked the pair of them; they were very smart, of course, but they were also very clever and brave and James often wondered if the Sorting Hat had misplaced them. The twins also didn't mind causing a pit of trouble every now and then along with the Marauders and they were also on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, but when they played against James and Sirius, it was more of a friendly rivalry than the actual "beat them or die" mentality James often had when Gryffindor played Slytherin.

So as James and Sirius peeled potatoes over the kitchen sink, Fabian and Gideon marched into the room, they immediately starting taking the mickey out on the boys.

"Aww, look at them, Gid," Fabian said to his brother, "Working like slaves, they are."

"Heard your mum was in a right foul mood last night, eh, Potter?" Gideon replied with a chuckle.

Sirius took the opportunity to replay last night's events to the twins while they laughed and guffawed when appropriate, but all four of the boys fell silent again when Helena entered the kitchen to magic the plates and utensils to set themselves on the table. Laughing, she took pity on the boys and with a flick of her wand, all the potatoes were peeled and ready to cook.

Dinner went on with Atticus and Ashford reliving stories of their adventures as Aurors. Between them, they each had different stories to tell every time they sat down for dinner so it was never boring. James had always loved hearing stories of catching dark wizards and witches and had always thought that's what he would be doing as well when he was finished at Hogwarts.

There was one thing that James really, really, extremely _hated_. And that is Pureblood mania. To think that there are people who believe themselves superior to others simply because of their bloodline was just preposterous. There were people even at Hogwarts who thought people like Lily Evans to be dirty, worthless, and completely talentless. This wasn't the case at all. Some of the most brilliant people at Hogwarts were muggleborns. Especially Lily; she was brilliant. She mastered Charms much sooner than most people in their year, as well as Potions, which seemed as though she could just throw things together and boom—finished, perfectly concocted. But she was also a quick thinker. When they were training for dueling in Professor Buckley's third-year Defense class, Lily was paired with a great brute Bradley Bilby from Hufflepuff and he clearly had the size advantage, but Lily was quicker, both physically and mentally, thinking of jinxes and hexes that James himself wouldn't be able to think of that quickly. Her only problem was that she never wanted to hurt anyone else. Of course, this was only practice and they were only using defensive spells and minor jinxes, but she cringed when she caused someone the slightest bit of pain.

"What are you smirking about, James?" Atticus' voice rang through the Dining Room and Potter Manor.

James started and looked around. Everyone was looking at him expectantly; Sirius with a grin that clearly said 'I know who you were thinking about' in a sing-song voice.

James cleared his throat awkwardly, "Just thinking about the new term starting up," He lied, "last year, you know."

Atticus nodded, but Sirius spoke loudly, "James has got his eye on a very nice girl by the name of Lily Evans, Atty," he told James' father.

Both Helena and Agatha looked at James in excitement, but James could only glare at Sirius, who shrugged.

"Oh, tell us about her, James," Agatha said, "My boys have shown absolutely zero interest in any of the girls at school, as far as I can see anyway. And I do love a good love story."

James felt his face heat up, "Well, it's not like that," he told them table, not looking at anyone, "She's lovely, but we're only friends."

"Only friends," Fabian scoffs loudly, and it was his turn to earn a glare from James, "My left boll—" he was cut off by his mother's stern look, "I mean, my left foot," he amended immediately, "You've been after her for years, Potter, and no one else is dumb enough to take her from you now."

"She's not mine," James said firmly, even though he would like to say she was.

"Yes, but even so," Gideon persisted, "you had gotten real friendly at the end of last term, didn't you? You're bound to be together, once she realizes it, eh?"

James was annoyed now. Of course, he wants Lily Evans to himself, but she was no prize to be won and she definitely was not someone who needed to "belong" to anyone.

He stood up quickly from the table, "Why the sudden interest in my love life, eh?" he asked, slightly angry, "If I may be excused, mother, I'm going to get some air."

Helena merely nodded sadly at her son, but he barely noticed because he was out the door at top speed.

How could they remind him that Lily Evans was just barely out of his reach? As if he didn't know that. It was difficult enough at school where he would see her every day, laughing and talking with her friends, sometimes walking with some bloke who James immediately wanted to hex. Of course, he did those things out of jealousy, not because if he couldn't have her then no one could. It wasn't like that. Well, maybe it was at first but now—he just wants her to be happy and safe. He wouldn't get in the way of that.

And while he was walking in the garden, examining the white fence that he had just painted earlier that day, James Potter realized something.

It wasn't some silly little school crush anymore. And he suddenly wasn't some idiot bullying toe-rag that was only trying to get the girl's attention. It was more now.

He really did love Lily Evans.

Over the next week, Lily was very busy preparing her parents' funeral and also packing up belongings in the house since Vernon had already taken it upon himself to put it on the market. Lily was allowed to stay there until she returned to Hogwarts and then she would never come back. It wouldn't be her home after September the first because this home would then belong to the bank, as well as most of the larger furniture that Petunia couldn't take with her to her new home in Privet Drive.

Lily sighed as she packed up the very last box of her mother's clothing to be taken to a thrift store across town. She had wanted to donate it to a woman's shelter, but Petunia insisted that they get whatever money they could out of old clothes and jewelry.

She hadn't been able to stop crying all week, whether it was full out sobbing or just silent tears running down her cheeks. And she certainly couldn't find enough strength to eat anything. She truly felt alone for the first time in her life; her parents were very proud and accepting of her and her capabilities, always encouraging her and always curious about the world that she joined when Minerva McGonagall came and delivered her Hogwarts letter when she was eleven-years-old. But now, Petunia was her only family left, unless you count that oaf Vernon, which Lily didn't. They were constantly berating her for using magic to tidy up the house, degrading her for being some sort of 'freak' and what's worse was that Petunia had told Lily that once she and Vernon were married that Christmas, she didn't want Lily to contact them again. Of course, this was all said after Lily had repaired a shattered vase with a simple spell. So Lily hoped that Petunia only said it out of anger.

Lily knew that she had Alice and Marlene, but she hadn't told them what happened just yet. She wasn't quite ready to believe it herself. People coming over, bringing food and sympathies, just wasn't what she wanted. But as she looked at the nearly empty living room save for the squashy couch and her father's rocking chair, she knew that she would need to tell her friends soon. Petunia had left hours ago, after all, and Lily, who used to prefer the quiet, now felt lonelier than she had in her entire life.

"Oy, Padfoot! Our letters came!" James shouted up the stairs towards his friend's bedroom.

He sat at the kitchen table after preparing several bacon sandwiches for him and Sirius to devour for breakfast. He turned over his Hogwarts letter, the last that he would ever receive from his favorite place in the entire world. It seemed quite a bit thicker than last year's letter, which was pretty thick itself seeing as it carried James' Quidditch Captain Badge. He didn't have long to ponder because Sirius had just apparated with a loud CRACK right into the seat across from him, making James jump and yelp in fright.

"Blimey, Pads," James said, handing Sirius his own letter while picking himself off the floor, "what the bleeding—"

"Oh shut it, mate, that's payback for last month when you apparated into the loo when I was taking a—"

"Alright, alright, just open your letter and eat your sandwich."

The two boys each stuffed large bites of sandwich into their mouths as they ripped open their letters, which James immediately regretted once he saw what his contained. He nearly choked on his bacon as a newly polished badge fell onto the table with a clang. He picked it up and examined the Hogwarts crest, the gold letters HB glinting brightly back at him.

"Holy mother of Merlin's right fucking eye socket," Sirius muttered in shock.

James looked up to find Sirius' face eyeing the badge in James' hand. James figured he must be wearing the same sort of expression as Sirius; mouth open slightly, eyes wide, look of pure confusion.

"Did they send you Moony's by accident?" Sirius asked once he found he could speak.

James didn't answer. He actually found that he couldn't move. But he watched at Sirius picked up James' envelope and read aloud, although the words didn't quite register.

"To Mister James Atticus Potter, Potter Manor, the Kitchen," Sirius read over and over again as though it would change suddenly to a different name before his eyes, but it didn't, "Well, shit," he said, "Congratulations, mate!"

"This can't be, Padfoot," James said slowly, getting to his feet and beginning to pace, "this is a mistake, Dumbledore's made a mistake, hasn't he? It should be Moony, not me. I'm not even a Prefect."

Sirius continued eating his sandwich as though nothing happened, "Nah, Dumbledore doesn't make mistakes, and you know that."

James continued pacing. This just didn't make sense. Remus was the model student, the Prefect and the one who normally kept the rest of them in line. There was no way James could be Head Boy, it just wasn't right. He caused too much trouble and always ended up in detention. But no, James was a good Quidditch Captain, yes, but Dumbledore would pick him as Head Boy simply because of his Quidditch capabilities, would he? Dumbledore must be off his rocker.

"James," Sirius said firmly.

James stopped pacing immediately. Sirius hardly ever used James' name, but when he did, James knew that this was Sirius when he was being well… serious.

"Dumbledore knows what he's doing," Sirius told him, "He picked you for a reason. Trust him, yeah?"

James nodded and after a few moments, he sat down and continued eating his sandwich.

"I reckon we should go to Diagon Alley sometime, huh?" James asked his friend.

Sirius nodded, "Saturday?"

James nodded, "I'll let Wormy and Moony know."

They continued to eat in silence, each of them reading through their letters and lists of things they would need for the school year.

Suddenly, Sirius let out a loud laugh, "You know what I just thought of?"

James looked up from his letter and at his friend, "What?"

"I bet you anything Evans was made Head Girl," he said, continuing to laugh, "you'll be working alongside each other all year, Prongs, this is brilliant!"

James let those words sink in for a moment. Of course! Why didn't he think of that? But the thought of working with Lily all year didn't excite him like it should have; it made him nervous. What is she going to think about him being made Head Boy? Will she be angry? Or will she laugh at him? Will she think it's some sort of joke? James ruffled his hair nervously, knowing that this was something that annoyed Lily, but he couldn't help it at the moment. He needed to focus on being on his very best behavior while being Head Boy. He wasn't about to disappoint her.

A few weeks later, Vernon and Petunia agreed to drop Lily off at the train station to board the train that would take her to Hogwarts for her very last year. She was very excited to go back; however, having to deal with the harassment from her sister and her fiancée during a two hour car ride was mentally draining.

It was hard enough leaving her parents' house for the very last time. But then dealing with Vernon's rudeness and her sister's snide remarks about going out of their way to take her to her precious school for freaks was another thing entirely. Normally, Lily wouldn't take this kind of abuse from people; she was always one to put bullies in their place or kill them with kindness, but she just didn't have the energy today. So Lily kept her face pressed up against the cool window and allowed her tears to fall silently and Petunia and Vernon had no idea how they made her feel.

After they dropped her off at the curb and said a hasty goodbye, Lily tugged her heavy trunk and her cage for Ulysses into the train station and towards Platform 9 ¾. She didn't look back before she rushed forward and disappeared into the barrier. She quickly wiped at her cheeks before anyone could see her tears and she looked up at the large scarlet steam engine. She looked to her left and right, saying hello and greeting those she recognized before continuing down the platform, looking for Alice and Marlene. After deciding she would catch them once she was on the train, she tried to lift her heavy trunk on board, but found it difficult until someone appeared at her left and suddenly her trunk was light as a feather.

"Thank you so much," Lily said, breathing heavily and placing Ulysses' cage on top her trunk.

"It's no problem, Lily," the deep voice said.

Lily recognized it, but this voice was also slightly different; deeper and suddenly more masculine that it had been before. She looked up to find James Potter standing before her, hands stuffed into his pockets and a wide smile on his face. He looked as though he hit a growth spurt over the summer; he was now so tall that Lily only came up to his shoulder… his shoulder that was suddenly broader with long arms that were suddenly more muscular. He was very tan and his jet black hair seemed even darker and more untidy than it ever had been before, but for some reason, it wasn't as annoying as before either. Lily swallowed when she saw a vein protruding from his forearm. He was still thin, but he definitely filled out and suddenly she was aware of just how much of a man James Potter had become.

"James, hello," she said, trying her best to plaster on a smile, "have a good summer?"

"I did, thanks," he said, still smiling, "You?"

Her demeanor only faltered for a second, but James definitely noticed, "It was—alright," she managed, still keeping the smile on her face, "I'll see you on the train, then, yeah?" She said quickly and she was off, boarding the train in search of Marlene and Alice.

James stared after her. Something was definitely amiss about Lily Evans.

Of course, she looked lovelier than ever, even though she did look thin and slightly pale, but her red hair was just as vibrant and her eyes were the same beautiful green, even if they did hold a little sadness in them. Her skin was the same porcelain ivory, the lightest dust of freckles across her little nose. Her legs long and lean, the same thin waist and curves right where they belonged, but something was definitely different. It was in her eyes, and it reminded him of the hurt he saw only one time before.

"James, a quick word," his father's voice came from behind him.

James nodded and turned around to face his father. He would have to worry about Lily later; sure that Marlene or Alice could tell him something.

"Yeah, dad?"

"I just want to give you a head's up before you take off," Atticus told him, "Professor Buckley retired early this morning, completely out of the blue, Dumbledore said."

James nodded slowly, not sure where this conversation is going.

"Buckley replaced himself with Hector Carrow, James. You heard of him, yeah?"

James racked his brain for familiarity with that name, but nothing came. James shook his head.

"Hector Carrow is believed to be a follower of the Dark Arts, James, but we've never seen any proof," Atticus continued, "He's an odd sort of bloke, not to be trifled with, you hear? You and the boys need to beware of him; we've reason to think his punishment methods are going to be-er- outdated, James, so you don't go meddling into things that could earn you detention with him. Do you understand?"

James nodded, "Of course."

"I've already told Sirius while you were speaking with that lovely red head," his father said next, his warning tone far gone and replaced with a fondness for his son, "That the Evans girl, eh? Lovely, just like you said."

James nodded in full agreement.

"You'll want to warn her about Carrow, too," his father added, pulling James into a fatherly hug and clapping him on the back, "Evans isn't a name purebloods recognize, is it?"

James' eyes widened, "This teacher-he wouldn't—"

But Atticus cut him off, "It'll be alright, son, people will be watching him. But if that girl's temper is as fiery as her hair, make sure you worn her about Carrow, alright?"

James nodded again, "Keep in touch, dad."

"Will do, my boy," Atticus said, as James boarded the train that was about ready to take off, "And stay out of trouble!" his father added, but then he thought for a moment, "At the very least, don't get caught!"

James laughed and waved until his father was out of sight and then he turned and headed down the train to find his friends, who were sitting in the last compartment, already opening up packages of sweets and snacks they had purchased off the trolley.

"Der 'e is!" Peter yelled with a mouthful of pumpkin pasty.

"Saved you my cards mate," Remus said, handing James five chocolate frog cards, knowing that James had been collecting them since he was little.

James took his usual seat next to the window and opened up a few sweets they had saved for him.

"How about that new Carrow teacher, eh?" Sirius said to James, "I told the boys about it already."

James shook his head, "Seems odd, doesn't it? Why would Buckley the first day of term?"

"And hire some guy, basically off the street to take his place? Definitely fishy," Peter agreed.

"I wonder what dad meant about his punishment methods…" Sirius went on, "What's he gonna do, hang us by our toes in the Great Hall?"

The other three boys shrugged, but it was Remus who spoke next.

"It doesn't sound as though this bloke will be too friendly with muggleborns and half-bloods, I reckon, from what Pads says anyway."

James thought over Remus' words while the three of them carried on about the next full moon. He had to be sure to warn Lily and her friends about the warnings his father had just given him. He had heard enough students give Lily and other muggleborn students a hard enough time before, but add a teacher to the mix and it just didn't sit right with James.

"What time do you need to go, Prongs?" Peter asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

James checked it watch, "Right now, I suppose," he said, sighing, "That way I can prepare a little bit and maybe talk things over with Lily before I go and make a complete fool of myself. You coming, Moony?"

Remus nodded and stood as well.

The Head Boy and Girl were scheduled to present themselves to the Prefects and work out a time that works best for everyone for weekly meetings. James was, of course, very nervous to see Lily's reaction to him being made Head Boy… or maybe she already knew? He wasn't sure.

"You'll be fine, Prongs," Remus told him as they made their way up the train to the front compartments.

James nodded gravely, but he didn't have time to say anything as they passed a compartment where Lily, Alice and Marlene were sitting. James watched through the glass as Lily was leaning over her lap, head in her hands and her back racking with sobs. Alice was rubbing circles in her back and Marlene looking at her friend in sadness. James looked at Remus, who shrugged.

"I haven't heard anything," he told James, who also nodded, "Not like her to cry though, is it? It must be something really bad."

"I knew something was up when I helped her with her trunk," James said as Remus pulled him away from the girls' compartment, knowing full well that James would want to barge in and demand to know who hurt Lily's feelings and swear to break every bone in the culprit's body.

"Leave Alice and Marly to it, mate," Remus advised, "Lily won't want everyone to know her business."

James nodded and they continued up the train, stopping here and there to say hello to classmates, but James wasn't as friendly as he normally would have been. He was too caught up in wondering what could have possibly gotten Lily so down. She clearly hasn't eaten much and James wondered how long it's been since her last proper meal. Thankfully, the house elves at Hogwarts always prepared the finest meals and Lily would go to bed with a full stomach tonight.

But that thought had him wondering… he didn't know all that much about Lily's home life, but he did know her parents were hard working folks and they owned a bakery after all. So Lily wouldn't go hungry, would she? James cringed. Maybe her parents lost business and had to close down the bakery. And then they didn't have food because they had to save their money for more important things, like shelter. And here James had an endless supply of bacon (Lily's favorite food) and his house was more than big enough to fit Lily's family in it, and he had no idea. It hadn't crossed his mind before.

He reached into the pocket of his jeans where his badge was and pulled it out and pinned it to his chest as Remus opened the door to the largest compartment that held Prefect meetings. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a chocolate frog that he brought just in case the meeting lasted far too long, but he didn't eat it.

The compartment filled rather quickly and every time the door opened, James looked up to find each person turn out to not be Lily. But that only made him more nervous.

He received several looks from the Prefects that told him they were just as surprised as he was at him being Head Boy, but Severus Snape's reaction was by far, the very best, and James suddenly gained his confidence back. That is, until Lily was the last to arrive.

Oh, thank Merlin, James thought as he spotted the Head Girl Badge pinned to her pretty mint green sweater. He smiled at the sight of the little white flowers embroidered by the buttons. But when she caught his eye, he was surprised to see she didn't have much of reaction to seeing him there. The redness of her eyes saddened him and he felt that he would do anything to make her smile a real smile that reached her eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said to the Prefects before turning to James, "And sorry for not meeting with you to prepare for the meeting, James, I got caught up in something."

"No problem, Lily, go ahead and start," he said with a smile, ignoring Snape's scoff completely, "I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage, so if it's alright, I'll let you take the lead here."

There were a few chuckles, probably from Fabian and Gideon, but James' eyes didn't leave Lily's and he swore he saw a small smile gracing the corner of her pink lips.

"Alright, well, as you can all see, James and myself were made Head Boy and Girl this year," Lily said, facing the group.

There were a few scoffs again; coming mostly from the Slytherin Prefects, Snape and Samantha Zabini, but Lily only paused for a second. James swore he saw fire flash in her eyes, a tell-tale sign that they hit a nerve.

"We were both _chosen by Dumbledore himself_," Lily said sweetly, but James knew it was her way of telling them off, "So I suppose if you think the Headmaster made a mistake then maybe you'll be able to take that up with him at your own leisure. Now, before anyone has any objections, I would like to discuss a schedule that makes it possible for us to meet weekly, where we will discuss concerns…"

Lily went on, but James was lost already. She had just defended him, didn't she? He looked to Remus, who was smiling rather fondly at Lily, proving that he was thinking the same thing James was.

The rest of the meeting, James was lost in the way Lily carried herself. She was definitely in her element here and she was so good at it; Dumbledore made no mistake appointing her as Head Girl.

"Okay, so as of right now, it looks as though either Mondays, Thursdays or Sundays work for everyone for the weekly meeting? Any objections? No, okay, then James and I will talk it over and work things out accordingly to his schedule with Quidditch practice and his lessons, and then we'll get back to you. You'll see a posting for the next meeting in your house Common Rooms. Anything to add, James?"

"Er- No, no I think you've covered everything, Lily," he replied awkwardly.

The Prefects all filed out of the compartment then, but Remus hung back, silently asking James if he should wait for him. James shook his head in answer as he approached Lily, who was shuffling papers and stuffing notes into her bag. James ignored the smirk on Remus' handsome, but scarred face as he left the two of them alone.

James cleared his throat, "I, ah, saved you a chocolate frog, Lily."

He kicked himself for being so lame. But he couldn't help it; he knew Lily had a weakness for chocolate and he also knew that he would do just about anything to see the smallest of smiles on her lips again.

And she did smile, "You didn't have to do that," she said, but she took it nonetheless.

James chuckled a little, "So good meeting. I have to say, I've been pretty nervous about this whole thing, I'm not sure I can handle it. I'm a little out of place. But you handle it perfectly."

Lily looked at him curiously, "You mean, you don't know why Dumbledore picked you?"

James shook his head, "No… I mean, hang on—do _you_ know why he picked me?"

And Lily gave him the biggest smile she had ever given him before as she turned and headed towards the door.

"Thank you for the chocolate frog, James."

**A/N:** Please Review and let me know what you think or if I should continue!


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Seventh Year- The New Teacher

"Firs' Years! This way Firs' years! Follow me!"

Hagrid's loud booming voice echoed throughout the Platform at the station in Hogsmeade. James, stepping off the train with his fellow marauders, offered the large man a quick wave.

"Eh, there, boys," Hagrid greeted them in return, "Good summer, I hope… didn't cause yer families too much grief, did yeh?"

"'Course not, Hagrid," Sirius yelled back with a grin as they set off towards the carriages.

"Managed to stay out of jail, too, luckily," James added, still straightening his tie from changing into his robes at the very last minute.

"That doesn't mean they didn't try, Hagrid!" Remus yelled in response before they climbed into the last carriage.

They heard Hagrid chuckling to himself as he ordered first years into the boats that would take them to the castle.

Thankfully, the Sorting was kept short because there was one thing all three of the marauders had in common. And it was their love for Hogwarts' food. Of course, they all came from good homes where mothers actually fed their children; even though Remus' family were poor, they always had plenty to eat and even though Sirius' mother was… well, a bitch, I suppose, Sirius was never starving. James' mother always fed him up well, but it was Peter's father who could cook up a mean stew. But there is nothing like Hogwarts food.

"Good ol' Honky's outdone herself this time, hasn't she?" Sirius said fondly of the house elf that was in charge of the kitchens.

James looked up from his large pile of chicken and boiled potatoes just in time to see Sirius take a very large mouthful of steak and kidney pie, "'Er 'elling 'ee!" he attempted, wiping his mouth after sputtering a little potato on his chin.

He was lost in the euphoria of returning to his favorite place in the entire world.

But something familiar and red caught his eye a few seats down from where he was sitting. Lily had a few potatoes and green beans on her plate, but it looked as though she was just moving them around with her fork while keeping a conversation with Emmeline Vance about some mystery man she had met over the summer. James could tell Lily was barely listening to her ramblings, which was odd in itself because Lily Evans was never one to ignore people, no matter how boring the story would be.

"—So I told him! I told him, I said 'Billy, if you think for one second I'm going to take these knickers off for you'," Emmeline was saying in a loud whisper as though she wasn't trying to announce it to the world, "I told him, 'you best take me out to dinner first!'"

This statement was followed by a round of giggles from Marlene and Emmeline and Mary MacDonald. But little Alice only chuckled and her face turned slightly pink, but James swore he saw her blue eyes flicker towards Frank, who sat next to Remus. James was thankful to see that Lily wasn't having a giggling fit as the other girls were, but then again, he would rather see that then the Lily he was seeing now. She was smiling, but James, being the 'Lily expert' that he was by now, could tell that this smile was forced and didn't reach her eyes at all. She looked up suddenly and her bright green eyes caught his hazel ones. Normally, he would look away quickly so as not to be seen, but the look she gave him told him not to. Her smile was gone, but it looked as though she knew what he was thinking. For just a second, she looked relieved, but James didn't know why. He chanced a small smile, but she merely gave a slight nod.

It was only a few minutes later that Dumbledore stood, "The very best of evenings to you all!" he said loudly with a smile, "I am pleased to see all of you, some for the first time and those of you who have returned for another year. Before we all retire to our warm beds to rest our full bellies, I must make a few announcements first."

There was a pause as the students and other teachers waited for the Headmaster to continue. That's when James noticed the new teacher. He had completely forgotten his father's warning.

This man was very tall and very thin, looking as though he had been tied down at the ankles and then stretched. He had dark brown hair streaked with gray and his robes were immaculate, with gold buttons. He held a cane on his left side that James guessed held his wand in the handle. His eyes were dark and emotionless; he didn't even look pleased to be at Hogwarts as the rest of the staff did. James watched as Carrow's eyes roamed over the crowd of students before coming to rest on Dumbledore, a look of deep disdain in his features.

"I would like to announce how exciting we are to have a new teacher!" Dumbledore went on, "Professor Hector Carrow will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts; he comes highly recommended by Professor Buckley, who, we regret, had decided to take some time off to re-evaluate and travel. You know, he told me just last month that he had always wanted to go to Kenya. And just this morning, I received an owl saying he—"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and Dumbledore stopped, looking sheepish, "Yes, yes, thank you, Minerva," he said, "So if you all would please welcome Professor Carrow."

The students clapped, but it ended quickly. James figured everyone had the same impression of the new teacher.

"Now, now, if our Prefects will direct the first years to their respective dormitories first," Dumbledore concluded, clapping his hands together, "Off to bed! We have a very busy day tomorrow!"

The following morning, James woke early in order to find Lily at breakfast, but she wasn't there. And he waited throughout the two hours breakfast was served, but she never showed. She had disappeared into the girls' dormitory last night right after the feast, so he didn't get to talk to her then either. It was all beginning to really worry him; it just wasn't like her to skip breakfast.

He knew she wouldn't skip class though and when he entered his nine 'o'clock Potions class, James was pleased to see her already sitting in her usual seat at the front of the class.

"Lily, I saved you some bacon," he said when he made his was over to her, setting down a few strips of bacon wrapped in a napkin in front of her.

She looked up at him and for a moment James thought she would cry and he kicked himself for trying to be thoughtful. He should have known Lily wouldn't like any sort of special attention, whatever her problem was.

"Just didn't see you at breakfast," he explained when she didn't say anything, "I thought, 'oh no, Lily won't have her morning bacon! The world will end as we know it!'"

She laughed at that. _Mission Accomplished_, James thought as he turned and walked back to his seat. He ignored the scowl Snape sent in his direction. And when James sat down, he saw Lily unwrap the napkin and take a bite of her bacon.

"Kiss arse," Sirius muttered, taking the open seat next to him, "Saw the whole thing… what'll be next, Prongs, flowers?"

"She didn't eat a damn thing at the feast last night and didn't turn up at breakfast," James said, not taking his eyes off Lily. He had to make sure she ate every strip of bacon he brought her, "I should have grabbed more."

Remus appeared on James' other side, "I thought it was nice of you, Prongs, she does look rather thin," he said.

"I reckon it has something to do with her parents dying," Peter suggested on Sirius' other side.

All three heads snapped up in his direction, "What?" James nearly yelled.

But Peter didn't have time to explain what he had overheard Marlene and Alice discussing at breakfast that morning. Professor Slughorn greeted the class with a hearty and loud hello.

"Hope you've all had good holidays," he said happily, before clapping his hands together, "Now, now, down to business. Very busy lesson today. Now, if you will all please stand and make your way towards the front here."

Everyone left their seats and followed Slughorn to the front of the classroom where three covered cauldrons simmered on a long table.

"Here come the theatrics," Sirius sighed, muttering so only James heard him.

"Direct your attention, please," Slughorn said in an excited voice, "There you see three potions, all of them perfectly brewed. All of them have a very distinct smell. One at a time, I will lift a lid and the first to raise their hand and answer correctly the name of the potion and its uses, will earn twenty house points, thirty if you can name at least two ingredients."

"Is that a challenge, Professor?" Sirius said cockily with a laugh. Several of the girls laughed too. Mary MacDonald actually fluttered her eyelashes at him and James had to laugh because Sirius, of course, winked at her in response, making her face glow bright red.

"It is, Mr. Black and I shall be delighted if you could answer the first one," Slughorn opened the first cauldron.

James took a whiff, but he didn't have a clue. He was decent at Potions, but it wasn't his best subject. He looked around and it seemed none of his friends new the potion either.

"Ah, Miss Evans, I should have known," Slughorn said, causing James took look over at Lily, who stood between Alice and Marlene, her hand in the air, "Please, tell us."

"That one is Volubilis Potion, sir," Lily said quietly, "When drunk, it will make the drinker's voice lower, which can be seen as an attractive attribute, sir," Lily's cheeks turned slightly pink, "I can tell by its yellow color, but also because it smells of mint and honey, which are two of the ingredients when making this potion."

James smiled as Lily was awarded thirty points for Gryffindor, "Now, who can tell me about this one?" Slughorn continued.

James inhaled again and this time he did know the answer, but he raised his hand too late.

"Mr. Snape, please, tell us," Slughorn said.

"It's called the Beautification Potion, since the creator couldn't think of anything better to call it, obviously," Snape answered, pleased to be called on, "it's used to enhance appearances, sometimes to remove warts and boils. I can tell by the smell, almost citrus, and a few ingredients are one unicorn tooth and- and—"

"And a caterpillar!" Sirius yelled, interrupting Snape since it seemed as though he had forgotten what else was used to create the potion.

Snape scowled at Sirius, who didn't seem to notice.

"Wonderful!" boomed Slughorn, "Twenty points, Mr. Snape and I underestimated you, Mr. Black, take ten for Gryffindor."

The class watched as Slughorn took off the lid to the last cauldron and the reaction was immediate. James' senses were filled with—with something. Something wonderful. He could smell leather, something sort of floral, strawberries and something else… unmistakably like bacon. He looked over to Lily, who had her head down, a small smile on her lips and cheeks slightly pink. She raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Evans, please," Slughorn called on her.

James couldn't keep his eyes off her; here he could look at her and smell all the things that remind him of things he loves, people he loves… Lily, who he loves.

Her voice was what James reckoned an Angel would sound like, "Amortentia," she said softly, "The most powerful love potion ever created. It causes severe infatuation and sometimes obsession," she took a step closer to the potion, "yes, I can see the pearl tint now, and I can smell," she paused, inhaling deeply, "fresh linen and freshly baked bread and… and cinnamon and," her eyes popped open and she backed away from the potion quickly, "And bacon."

James' smile grew wider. He suddenly felt very warm and sort of drunk. He had this incredible urge to walk over to Lily and—

"Hey, that smells like James, here!" Sirius' voice boomed from James' left.

James snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his friend, who was sniffing dramatically at James' shoulder.

"Oi!" James said, jerking his arm away, but the damage was done.

Everyone was laughing, not including most of the Slytherins of course. And Lily, James definitely noticed, was not laughing. In fact, she looked extremely embarrassed and she didn't meet James' eyes again for the rest of the day.

And between setting Quidditch trials, Head Boy duties and classes, James had completely forgotten to ask Peter what he knew about Lily's parents.

The seventh year Gryffindors did not have their first Defense lessen until the next afternoon. They had heard from other students who had already had their first lessen with the new professor and so far, no one liked him. Except for several Slytherin students. Everyone seemed to have different reactions.

"Bloody brilliant!" a fourth year Slytherin said loudly one day during lunch, "It's about time we've got a decent teacher."

"He's a dreadful person!" Alice told James when they were paired in Transfiguration, "Did you hear what he said to that Hutchins third year? I heard he called her a horrible name… because, you know, her father is a muggle."

James walked to class with his friends, wishing he had the time to warn Lily about the way Carrow had spoken to Kayla Hutchins, and also about what his father had said. He knew Lily wouldn't cause trouble as the marauders often did, but he knew that Lily would defend anyone who she thought was being treated unfairly.

"Don't worry about it, mate," Sirius told him, "Evans knows not to cross a teacher, she'll be fine."

"I don't know, Padfoot," Remus put in, "I reckon he should have warned Lily; he sounds like a real unpleasant chap. He'll say something about centaurs or something and she'll fly off the handle, you mark my words."

The classroom was now empty, with the exception of the tables and chairs and teacher's desk. There were no longer propaganda posters supporting the Ministry in this time of war, but the walls were bare as well. All of Buckley's old artifacts and materials from his travels were gone and replaced with bare space. The room was dark and cold.

"There will be no need for your wands at the moment," a cold voice came from the corner of the room. A moment later, Professor Carrow appeared from the shadows, "No books!" he shouted suddenly, spotting Alice reaching into her bag for her book. She quickly jammed it back into her bag, looking positively frightened, and "Buckley informed me you were all familiar with the Unforgiveable Curses…"

For the first half hour of class, Carrow went on and on about the Unforgiveable Curses; their uses, famous cases in which they were used, famous witches and wizards who have used them, what the penalties are for using them and so on. It was all rather boring, James thought. He had known all of this already.

Eventually, Carrow walked around the room and asked certain students questions about what he had just talked about. It was as though he was quizzing them to see how much they had been paying attention.

"Your name, miss?" Carrow asked.

Marlene sat up straighter when she realized Carrow had stopped at her table, "Marlene McKinnon."

"Miss McKinnon, it looked as though you were off in another world," Carrow said, "I wonder if you have heard a word so far in this lessen."

"I have, sir," Marlene said quietly, turning slightly pink, "I understand that you are a young lady and feel that there are more important matters running through your small brain, but I assure you, this is all information you'll want to know someday."

Marlene stared open mouthed at Carrow.

"Small brain?" Sirius said loudly, standing up for Marlene, "She's one of the best in the year!"

Carrow quickly strode over to James and Sirius' table, stopping abruptly, "Stand, Mr. Black."

James didn't need to wonder how Carrow knew Sirius' last name. The Blacks were very well known and most pureblood families were all related. James wouldn't be surprised if Carrow was Sirius's cousin.

"Name one of the three Unforgiveable Curses, Black," Carrow sneered, "If you can remember."

"Easy," Sirius said, chuckling, "The killing curse. Avada Kadavera is the incantation and obviously, it is used to kill people. The use of this curse will send you straight to Azkaban and not one person is known to survive it."

Carrow nodded," Correct, Black, but interrupt me again and you'll earn yourself a detention."

"I would expect nothing less, professor," Sirius said, rolling his eyes when Carrow turned his back.

James then watched and listened to Mulciber explaining what the Cruciatus curse was. It looked odd; the way Carrow interacted with a Slytherin was completely different than any of the Gryffindor students. It looked as though they were excited talking about curses, especially the curse the caused extreme pain.

Carrow continued to walk around the room, searching for his next victim to quiz. He stopped in front of Alice and Lily's table and suddenly James too was at full attention, praying Carrow wouldn't chose to pick on Lily because she was sure to talk back if provoked.

"What's your name?" Carrow asked Alice.

Alice looked around at Lily as though she had forgotten the answer to that question, "Alice F-F-Fortescue, sir."

"Fortescue," Carrow repeated while thinking, "As in the ice cream parlor?"

Alice nodded, "Y-yes, sir. Florien is my great-uncle, sir."

"Tell me the last of the three Unforgiveable Curses, Miss Fortescue."

"W-well, Buckley taught us—" Alice began, but Carrow interrupted her, slamming his fists on the desk in front of her. Alice and Lily both jumped in fright.

"I don't give a damn what Buckley taught you!" he yelled, "Give me the last curse!"

James saw a small movement out of the corner of his eye and he looked over to see Frank at the table next to theirs. Frank was on the edge of his seat, glaring at Carrow and looking as though he could pounce at any moment. James briefly wondered if Frank fancied Alice as much and she fancied him.

"T-the Imperius Curse," Alice said quickly, and she looked desperate for Carrow to call on someone else.

"Yes, the Imperius Curse," Carrow said, walking away from Alice and Lily's table, "Allows the attacker to use their victim according to their wishes. Under the curse, if you are weak, that is… you are no longer able to think for yourself. You are acting solely on your attackers commands."

Carrow stopped in front of Snape, "What is the incantation for the Imperious Curse?"

Snape didn't hesitate, "Imperio, sir," he said. And James didn't miss the nasty smirk that came along with it.

"Indeed," Carrow carried on, moving up the row until standing in front of James and Sirius' table.

James' eyes connected with Carrow's for a moment and James knew that Carrow recognized him. He did look very much like his father after all, and Potter was a name everyone in the wizarding world knew of.

Carrow continued walking until he stopped in front of Sirius, "Mr. Black, might I ask you to volunteer?"

Sirius hesitated for just a moment before a smirk appeared on his face; a smirk only his three friends knew.

"Then it wouldn't be volunteering, sir," he said cheekily, "If you were asking me."

James and Sirius chuckled and Peter guffawed while Remus rolled his eyes. Carrow's eyes narrowed, "Stand, Black."

Remus stood and they were almost the same height. Carrow took a step closer so they were almost nose to nose.

"No one, Mr. Black, not even you will talk to me like that in my class," Carrow said coolly, "At the front of the class, now."

Carrow followed Sirius until they were standing in front of everyone, side by side.

"Mr. Black, do you know how to fight off a curse, such as the Imperius?" Carrow asked him.

Sirius nodded and looked bored, "Yes, sir."

"You do?" Carrow said with raised eyebrows.

Sirius nodded again, "I do, sir."

"Wonderful, Mr. Black," Carrow said, "Now, I am going to put you under a light Imperius curse. You will feel no harm, I assure you—"

"That's illegal!"

James' heart sank at the interruption. He knew that voice anywhere, especially when it was angry and fired up. His head fell to the table with a thud. He didn't want to see a teacher place his friend under the curse either, but he would've rather said something first before Lily did.

There was complete silence until Carrow spoke, "Excuse me? What is your name, miss?"

"Lily Evans…" Lily said loudly, not backing down under Carrow's narrowed eyes.

James looked up at her; she was on her feet and next to her, Alice looked as though she had been trying in vain to get Lily to sit back down and shut her mouth.

"Evans," Carrow repeated with a nasty expression, "I'm going to assume you are a muggleborn, Miss Evans?"

"Yes, and I am also Head Girl," Lily said, her voice still loud and clear, "And I do not agree with you performing these curses on my fellow students, whether it's part of your curriculum or not."

"I am under the Ministry's curriculum for the school, Miss Evans," Carrow said, walking towards Lily, who still did not back down, "Are you saying you don't agree with what the Ministry has told me to teach you?"

"Yes!" Lily said, "This is wrong. We are students—"

"And you are here to learn what I teach you, Miss Evans."

"But this is wrong!" Lily persisted, "Dumbledore—"

Lily stopped dead and flinched away when Carrow raised his hand as if to strike her. James was out of his seat like lightning, his chair legs scraping the floor and then slamming into the table behind him. He heard the same noises coming from all over the room so he knew that several other Gryffindor students were out of their seats the moment Carrow raised his hand to Lily's face as well. Sirius was standing between Carrow and Lily within seconds. The classroom was silent and no one moved for several moments. It was very strange to see a teacher react this way with Lily Evans. First of all, none of their other teachers had ever suggested practicing new spells and things on the students unless they were in Charms and most of those were used to alter appearances and charm objects.

The room was very tense and dead quiet. After seeing this, Carrow quickly lowered his hand and straightened his robes before offering the class a tight smile.

He cleared his throat, "I think this is a good place to stop for the day," he said and a few of the students sat back down but James continued standing, staring at Carrow, who still stood in front of Lily, "Please read chapters two, three and four for discussion on Thursday. Miss Evans and Mr. Black will join me in detention this evening; here in my office at eight 'o'clock. Class dismissed."

Lily and Sirius were at detention with Carrow as James paced the Common Room. Remus, Peter, Marlene, Frank and Alice were all waiting by the fire as well, but they were much calmer than James. As the hours ticked by, their small group grew smaller and smaller until at midnight, it was only James and Remus left.

"You're digging a hole there, mate," Remus said as James continued to pace frantically.

James only grunted in response.

"She'll be alright," Remus persisted, "Padfoot's there too, so at least you know she's not alone with that whack job."

James made a noise that resembled an angry growl.

"Probably just doing lines, is all, you'll see—"

Remus was cut off by the opening of the portrait of the Fat Lady. They both looked up to find Sirius walking slowly into the room, Lily close behind him. They were both pale and shaking, looking exhausted.

"Wh-what'd he make you do?" Remus asked after getting up from his chair closest to the fire and offering it to Lily.

Lily sat, but continued to tremble, staring into the fire. Sirius sighed and took a seat on the couch.

James and Remus both wanted answers but they were both lost at the sight of the two of them.

After a few moments, Sirius sighed and rolled up his sleeve, revealing bright red etchings deep in the skin of his forearm. James moved in to get a closer look. The red was Sirius' own blood, almost covering his entire arm, the word '_volunteer_' written over and over again.

"Lily's is worse," he told James quietly, "She refused for almost an hour. We had to write each other's lines, but he never gave us ink. I didn't know at first… I started writing and all of a sudden, Lily screamed."

James turned away from Sirius, trying to breathe deeply, but he just couldn't. He picked up the closest object and chucked it across the room with a yell, "Damn it!"

Lily flinched as the fire poker James threw hit the opposite wall. James regretted his actions immediately. She was basically tortured tonight, having to write lines which appeared in Sirius' arm as Sirius wrote lines that etched their way into her own arm. James felt sick to his stomach as he wondered how her arm looked.

He approached her slowly and kneeled down in front of her, "Lily, let me see," he whispered.

She swallowed and shook her head, holding her arm tightly to her chest.

"It's okay, Remus will whip something up," he told her before turning to Remus, "You can make some sort of—I don't know—cream or something to take the pain away?"

Remus thought for a second before he nodded, "Yeah," he confirmed, but he looked around nervously, "But-but the stuff I have is, uh—well, it's from Pomfrey's storage…"

James nodded his understanding before turning back to Lily, "Lily, I'm going to take you up to our dormitory, is that okay?"

She hesitated, looking between James, Remus and Sirius, before nodding, "I can-I can walk," she added as James started to pick her up.

He set her back on her feet, but didn't let go of her arm as they walked up the staircase. Peter's hangings were drawn around his bed and they could hear his snoring as they made their way to the far corner of the room. Frank was still awake and reading in his bed, but looked up as they entered the room.

"Everything all right?" he asked them, "Not hurt, Lily, are you?"

Before Lily could answer, Sirius spoke, "Had to do lines, Franky," he told him, "just a different kind is all."

Frank swore loudly when Sirius revealed his arm, "Shit! What are you going to do, Sirius, you'll have to go to Dumbledore!"

James directed Lily to his four-poster bed in the corner of the room and cleared it off so she could sit. Any other time he would be embarrassed by the sight of their dormitory room with all the sweet wrappers and old newspapers littering every open space, but now wasn't the time. He looked at her and noticed her eyes were very interested in something on his bedside table and with a jolt; he lunged forward to the only picture he kept. It was taken by Mary MacDonald, who carried a camera with her at all times. She managed to snap a candid photo of Lily laughing wildly at one of the many Marauders pranks, where they caused it to snow in the Great Hall on one of the hottest days at the end of last term. He tried to block her view, but he knew she had already seen it. The damage was done.

He placed it into his open trunk and acted as though nothing happened at all.

Remus went straight to work in making some sort of concoction to heal their arms.

Lily (forgetting about the photo of her on James' nightstand for now) continued to tremble, her face still pale, but she had yet to make any expression at all.

"Are you cold?" James asked her, taking hold of his blanket that was shoved off the bed and onto the floor after getting too hot last night.

She nodded and he placed the blanket around her shoulders. He sat down next to her as they watched Remus work.

About a half hour later, the essence of merlap was finished and Remus brought a bowl of the hot liquid over to James, who grabbed a clean wash rag from the bathroom quickly before soaking it into the bowl. Remus took the other bowl over to Sirius.

"You'll have to show me," James told Lily, who finally looked at him.

Her green eyes were slightly red rimmed and she looked absolutely exhausted. Her cheeks slightly hollow and pale and James felt the sudden desire to just sweep her up in his arms and not let her go ever, for as long as she lived. He would feed her and make sure she's warm and make sure that no one would ever hurt her ever again.

She slowly let go of her injured arm and peeled her jumper off her arms and up over her head before laying it down next to her. She was left in a cream colored camisole and James, who had only dreamed of seeing this much of her skin before, swallowed loudly and cleared his throat before placing the blanket around her shoulders again. She offered him a small smile gratefully.

She reluctantly held out her injured arm, where the word '_WRONG'_ was cut deep into her skin in large letters. Blood was dripping out of the abrasions and James looked at her jumper to see it stained into one of the sleeves.

"Okay, this stings a bit," he told her as he brought the bowl closer to him and he dipped the wash rag in it before wringing it out again, "We've all used it, it works."

Lily nodded before James slowly and carefully brought the rag to her arm. Lily gasped and squeezed her eyes shut tight for a moment before relaxing. After many injuries from the forest on their monthly excursions, James has had to use this to heal some of them many times before. He knew that there was a moment of a painful sting before it started to sooth and heals.

"There could still be a scar," he told her.

Lily shrugged, "Well, what's next? Are we going to practice the Cruciatus Curse on each other tomorrow?"

James didn't respond because he had no answers for her. He placed the now pink rag into the merlap again and wrung it out once more before replacing it on Lily's arm.

"This thing is," Lily said quietly a few moments later, "I can't tell anyone about this…"

James looked at her, "What d'you mean?"

"My parents…" she said, and all of a sudden she broke down.

Tears streamed down her face and her body racked with sobs. James was shocked for just a moment until he finally understood.

"What happened to your parents, Lily?"

She continued to cry, but suddenly she reached for him, placing her slender arms around his neck and holding onto him for dear life. He slowly wrapped his arms around her slim waist and held her tightly to him, rocking her slowly back and forth.

"Shhhh, it's okay," James told her after a few moments.

She didn't answer him.

About an hour later, Lily was almost asleep in James' bed. After finishing the healing on her arm, James wrapped it in gauze and carefully put her in one of his old t-shirts before laying her down on his pillow as she continued to cry. She faced the wall and James sat behind her with his back against the headboard as he rubbed small circles in her back. Every once in a while now, she would make the silly sobbing noise people usually made after a long time of crying so hard.

"Night, mate," Remus said to him, turning of his lamp.

James nodded in response.

Sirius was still awake and watching his best friend. He knew that James always had strong feelings for Lily, but tonight was the first time he ever thought that those feelings might be shared. Since the train ride only two days ago, Lily seemed to be hiding in a shell and suddenly James is the one who can make her eat a piece of bacon and suddenly she's crying on his shoulder. This was all something he had never seen before. Of course, Lily has always been nice to James, except of course when James was being—well, a younger, more immature version of himself. But this was something else entirely.

Sirius was able to muster a small smile as he turned out his bedside lamp.

If he was going to lose his best friend to anyone, it might as well be Lily Evans. And today, Lily had stuck up for him, not allowing a teacher to bully him or anyone else. Tonight, they shared a detention where they were forced to torture each other and as much as it hurt and as much as they wanted to stop, they silently agreed to be Gryffindors; strong, brave and loyal. So they just did it. And Sirius now had another new best friend.

James reached around Lily to grab the second pillow on her other side. She looked perfectly content in staying in James' bed so he decided he would kip up on the floor. But Lily turned over while he was reaching across her and she looked confused.

"Where're you going?" her voice was raspy and tired from crying.

"Just grabbing a pillow," he told her, "I'll be right here, on the floor."

"No!" she said quickly, sitting up on her elbows, "No, you should stay. Please, stay close to me."

James sat there looking at her as though he might not have heard her correctly. He should sleep on the floor… she's the love of his life after and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable in any way. But he also knew that he was never going to deny her anything she asked for.

"If you're comfortable, Lily," he responded, shifting his legs so they joined her own under the covers.

They laid side by side for a few minutes in silence.

"Please stay," Lily whispered softly one more time.

James was quick to respond, "I'm not going anywhere, Lily."

But in the morning when James woke early for breakfast, Lily had already gone. She folded his t-shirt neatly and placed it on the nightstand. It wasn't until he put his glasses on that he finally noticed that Lily left a note… and also put his picture of her in its proper place by the lamp.

_See you at breakfast –Lily _

**A/N: A special thanks to the following people who have reviewed. I appreciate your thoughts so much- please keep them coming and I will respond in kind with a new chapter! **

**Gabster-amy**

**NiccyTea**

**Mrsjamespotter**

**WickedSunshine**

**ProudRavenclaw204**

**Ohgreatone**

**Naqia**

**BlueJeanMistress**

**Tyra Bridget Potter-Weasley**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Lily, my lovely Lily

James continued to lie in his bed a long time after he woke to find Lily's note. He read it over and over again when his four other roommates were busy getting ready for the day. He hadn't heard a word anyone else was saying as they chatted about last night's events and how badly they all wanted to punch Carrow in the face. James was lost in his own very happy world.

Lily Evans had slept in his bed last night—with him. The place where she laid close to him was still warm and there was still a small dip in the pillow her head was on. James reached for it and held it close to his face and inhaled the all too familiar scent of floral, strawberry and honey. Then he started to think about how her small and soft body was pressed up against his for most of the night, her long legs sometimes nudging his own when she moved around in her sleep. He woke several times during the night to make sure she was alright and for a few moments before he turned out the light, he was able to softly pull her hair back out of her face as she slept. He hardly noticed how truly amazing it felt to have her lying so close to him last night, but now he had time to think about it, he found himself growing hard in his pajama trousers. He looked down and shook his head in shame before practically running into the bathroom in order to hide his arousal from his friends, who would undoubtedly never let him forget it. Once in the bathroom, James turned on the water in the large shower stall and stripped down before stepping inside the glass door and shutting it behind him.

He held his head under the scalding water while thinking how ridiculous it was for him to be so turned on by just her sleeping next to him. He was seventeen! He no longer had the uncontrollable tightness in his pants that would occur at any moment she walked in the room like he had on many occasions before, particularly in fourth year and fifth year when he couldn't stop day dreaming about what her nipples looked like. On that thought, he groaned and was forced to take himself in hand. He started to imagine her standing under the hot water with him and he grew even harder. He imagined little droplets of water getting stuck in her long eyelashes, just like the snow did during the winter months at Hogwarts. Maybe the water would pelt against her pale creamy skin and drip down her long legs. Water would trickle from her long hair onto her chest, over her breasts and down her thin stomach and lower where James would get a glimpse of a small patch of dark red hair. He groaned again as he imagined her red painted toenails standing on tip toe on the wet shower floor in order to reach his height to kiss him thoroughly. Because Lily did nothing only half way; everything had to be done right and well. He had to wonder if she owned one of those poufy loofa things; bending over in front of him as she lathered strawberry scented soap into her legs. If she caught him watching her, he knows for certain she would be biting her lip, a light pink tint beautifying her cheeks. With another groan, James imagined her back pressed against the wall because he would push her against it while keeping his body pressed tightly against hers. Maybe she would gasp or maybe her breath would hitch. He had to wonder if she would say his name softly as he entered her, her legs spread wide and hooked tightly around his waist as he held her bum and thrust into her while pulling her onto him over and over and over again until she came, calling his name.

And on that thought, he came too.

This was definitely not the first time he has done this while thinking of Lily Evans. In fact, any time he had done this in his entire life he thought of her. There was no such thing as other girls.

After his shower, James dried off with one of Hogwarts' large and thick towels and tied it around his waist before leaving the bathroom. While he dressed, he continued to think about the girl who seemed to always occupy his mind.

_We are friends, aren't we? I mean, she stayed with me last night, _James thought to himself. _More accurately, she asked me to stay with her, to not leave her. As if that could happen. But why would she want comfort from him? She's just lonely and sad, possibly. Her parents have died. I don't know how or why, but she decided to tell me that bit of news last night. I wish I could do something; bring her parents back, make her laugh and smile just the way she used to. I want to make her happy—no, I need to make her happy._

James continued thinking while Remus and Peter left for breakfast. James was just tying up his trainers when Sirius spoke.

"You and Evans were cozy last night, eh?"

James shrugged, "she was sad," he told his friend, "her parents died over the summer, not sure how though, she didn't say."

Sirius nodded solemnly and waited by the door as James grabbed his bag and followed him out of their dormitory.

"What do I do, Padfoot?" James asked suddenly as they made their way out into the corridor and down the first flight of stairs.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do I do with Evans? I mean, she slept in my bed—with me, mind you. So what do I do now? I've never done this before. This is more your territory, isn't it?"

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, "I must say, it is… and it could have been your territory too, but instead you chose to set your sights on one bird for the rest of your life."

James chuckled, "Padfoot, I'm not like you… I can't help it. I know you like to have your fun and be with—well, whoever you're with this week, but I _want_ Lily," James said as Sirius shrugged.

There is about a handful of girls currently at Hogwarts who Sirius has been hanging round for the last three years. James knew that his friend was far from a virgin because Sirius has been known to talk very openly about what he and some lucky bird can come up with while locked inside a broom cupboard. For some reason these girls didn't seem to mind because it was Sirius Black they were with after all. Many wondered why James wasn't this way at first, but then everyone soon understood because they learned that Lily Evans was the only girl he wanted to share a broom cupboard with. If he couldn't have her, he didn't want anyone else. But also, if he couldn't have her, no one else could either.

"So what do I do, then?" James said again, "Should I get her flowers, write love letters, or what? She loves chocolate, maybe we should sneak down to Hogsmeade so I can get some for her…"

Sirius rolled his eyes and finally decided he couldn't hear another word, "Prongs, enough! Just relax and be yourself. Show her who you are and she will love you! Stop being so nervous around her and saying things that just piss her off, mate. Compliment her, ask her questions—maybe writing letters is a good idea," Sirius thought out loud, "Yes, definitely, write her letters. Evans would eat that shit right up, wouldn't she?"

James nodded, looking as though he was making mental notes in his head about what to do and not to do.

"And maybe take her for a broom ride this weekend," Sirius continued offering suggestions, "On second thought, that's probably not a good idea seeing as she fell off her broom in Madam Hooch's lesson first year, remember?" James nodded before Sirius started using his fingers to count, "Okay so, compliments- tell her that she smells good or something. You know, I don't think she's really all that confident."

"Who's not confident?" Peter interrupted Sirius and the two of them joined Remus and Peter at the table in the Great Hall.

"Lily's not confident, is she?" Sirius asked Remus and Peter.

"She is too!" James said, "Look at her in lessons and with teachers. And she's definitely not afraid to say how she feels."

"But those are all things she knows, Prongs," Remus cut in while passing James a plate of bacon, "She knows nothing of boys and relationships, does she? She's never had one—"

"—thanks to you," Peter added to James, stuffing his mouth with eggs.

"And you have to see things from her point of view," Remus continued, "the only times you've asked her out have been in crowds filled with people watching. When have you asked her out just when it's you and her?"

James shook his head in shame, "Never."

"Plus, woman are woman, Prongs," Sirius said wisely, "They are a mystery, especially your bird. They all want something, but don't know how to ask for it or they don't show it. Lily's that way; she's not selfish. She probably wants you so badly that it freaks her out a bit."

"I agree with Padfoot," Remus said, "She also probably feels that you can do better than her… you've heard people; they call her that foul name and then say she doesn't deserve to be at Hogwarts. Maybe she feels that people will tell her she doesn't belong with you either."

"That's rubbish," James said angrily, "What does it matter what all those tosspots think? All that matters is that I want her and she- well, she… do you think she wants me?"

Remus, Peter and Sirius all exchanged secret smiles as if they knew something that James didn't.

"Oi, what's this about?" James said, not missing their smirks, "What are you not telling me? What do you know that I don't? Huh?"

Peter and Remus chuckled as Sirius gave a great sigh, "Oh, Prongs, please… no bird is going to come to your room with you and stay the night if she doesn't want it to go anywhere. Especially Evans, she doesn't just do things she's not comfortable with, Prongs, you know that. She was comfortable with you last night!"

"Padfoot's right," Peter said, "I was awake when she was leaving this morning and she was watching you sleep for at least ten minutes before she finally left."

James' heart swelled with the information, "Really?"

His three best friends looked at him and smiled.

"Just be yourself, mate." Sirius said again, clapping him on the back.

James smirked at his friends.

"Okay, so here's what we need to do…"

Lily doesn't know what changed, but something definitely had changed about James Potter.

Of course, she has always thought him handsome and incredibly brilliant in all their classes. But he always had this way of riling her up and getting on her nerves more than anyone else ever could imagine doing. She had always felt that people expected her to be a certain way… her sister had expectations for Lily at home. Teachers expected her to be brilliant because at first, she was determined to be the best student Hogwarts had ever seen. But now? Now all she wanted was to be… her. And for some reason, she felt as though she didn't need to be a certain person around James Potter.

She opened up to him last night. He was being so kind and helpful that she just needed—_craved_—his touch more than anything else.

She doesn't understand it and overanalyzing is something Lily often found herself doing. She was overanalyzing the situation and she didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, every time she closed her eyes, she could see tan skin, hazel eyes and jet black hair, and a great dimpled smile. A smile that made her knees weak and her heart (and other parts of her body) ache.

All she knew, since only hours ago, was that she wanted James Potter.

But she had no idea if he still wanted her.

"Prongs to Moony, come in Moony," James muttered into his charmed mirror.

Suddenly, Remus' face appeared into the mirror instead of James' own reflection.

"I'm here, Prongs, everything is in place, I've just left," he said quietly.

James grinned once before stowing the mirror back into the pocket of his robes.

The Marauder's made their plans to help James win the heart of Lily Evans three weeks ago. And today was the day they would finally be put to the test.

In the last three weeks, the Marauder's worked non-stop, devising plans and strategy for James. He knew he wouldn't be able to do this without his three best friends. Between Sirius' knowledge of girls, Remus' way with words and Peter's ability to sneak around unnoticed, this plan was sure to work in James' favor.

He hadn't spoken much to Lily during this time, though it wasn't without wanting to. They were both extremely busy with Head duties, lessons, Quidditch and other obligations. James was thankful that Lily hadn't earned herself another detention from Carrow, although she still seethed quietly in her seat during classes. In fact, most of the student body and learned to keep their mouths quiet around the new professor, having heard about his unpleasant punishments. But on the plus side, Carrow did not suggest putting another student under an unforgiveable curse again… yet.

Lily had received mixed messages from fellow students after the news of her and Sirius' detention spread throughout the school. Most were sympathetic, some didn't show any emotion toward them at all, but the Slytherins were particularly nasty. James had overheard Avery and Mulciber saying that Lily had deserved her punishment and much more just for being a 'Mudblood'. Hearing this caused James' anger to get the better of him and he earned himself a detention with McGonagall and cleaned the trophy room for probably the thirtieth time (so far) in his career at Hogwarts. However, McGonagall allowed him to use magic on half because he reckoned a small part of her was happy he had stuck up for Lily's honor. He had always liked Minnie.

But that wasn't the only incident where James felt the need to beat someone to a bloody pulp. There have been other whispers about Lily that either he or one of his friends had overheard. People started to think that muggleborns were causing trouble for everyone else. And Lily, being one of only seven muggleborn students currently at Hogwarts was at the head of all the speculation. But she didn't seem to notice, which surprised James, but also made him proud. She was never one to pay any mind to what people thought of her.

So because of this, one of the four Marauders was tailing Lily and her friends at all times. During days, they took turns following her to classes until they found that she was safe and sound before leaving her be and going onto their own lesson. They either trailed her quietly without being noticed or they hid underneath the invisibility cloak.

But today, this were going to change a little.

Today, Lily was going to find her first letter from James Potter, without knowing it's from him.

The plan was simple.

Peter charmed a quill to take a different handwriting, which was a bit funny considering Lily had taught him how to do so. Sirius and James would sit and write (Remus and Peter often throwing in ideas) and eventually they came up with the perfect letter. Then Remus, who shared Arithmancy with Lily, would clandestinely slip James' letter and a single, short stemmed red rose into her bag as he passed her table to get to his own.

At first, this plan frightened James a bit.

What if she thought the letter was from someone else? And what if she approached that person and he played along and they lived happily ever after and he was forced to watch them in their euphoric life while he was alone and Lily-less.

But he vowed to himself that Lily would get a letter like this for ten days and for those ten days, each day he would tell her something about her that he loved and on the last day, he would tell her how he felt in person.

Then she would know that it's him she should be with… that it's him that she belongs with, for the rest of her life.

Day One

Lily woke up on October the first feeling tired and slightly grumpy. It was far too early to be wide awake, but the nightmares were getting to be too much tonight, so she gets out of bed in her long silk nightgown and walks sleepily into the bathroom.

She starts the bath and fills it with her strawberry soap and looks at herself in the mirror while the tub fills.

Her eyes are tired, cheeks still slightly sunken in, but a little better than what they looked like at the start of term. Her skin is pale, no sign of the pink that used to grace her cheeks and even the light freckles that dust her nose seem to be sad.

_It's just as well, _Lily thinks bitterly, _I've told him about my parents and balled my eyes out in front of him. It's no wonder he's hardly spoken to me in weeks… I've frightened him away… as soon I start to feel something. _

Lily takes off her nightgown and hangs it on the hook on the back of the door before slipping her naked body into the hot water.

"Probably his plan all along," Lily adds bitterly.

But when she sees him a breakfast an hour later, her bitter thoughts of him vanish when he smiles at her. And suddenly her day is much better than it was when she woke up this morning.

Throughout the day, Lily does nothing but focus on her lessons. It's where her head should be instead of thinking about a certain black haired boy.

So because she's so focused, she completely misses Remus Lupin slipping the letter and small rose into her bad. Remus pulls out his mirror and calls for Prongs.

"Letter delivered," he mutters with a cheeky grin before pulling his Arithmancy book out of his bag.

James watches Lily all through dinner that evening for signs of giddiness or giggles with her friends over some mystery letter, but none come.

Had she seen it?

"You put it in the right bag, didn't you, Moony?" he asks Remus, grabbing a rough hold of the front of his friends robes, "Right?"

Remus shrugs him off, "'Course, I did!"

"Then—"

"Relax, Prongs," Sirius says, shoving potatoes onto James' plate, "She came here straight from Arithmancy, she probably hasn't seen it yet."

James relaxed, knowing that Sirius was right.

He took one more look at Lily to find her looking at him, but she looked away quickly, her cheeks turning pink.

After dinner, however; James followed Lily back to the Common Room. She with her friends and him with his. The three girls seemed to be in a deep conversation so James picked up the pace to keep up with them and his friends took the hint and did the same.

"You should really tell someone, Lily…" Alice was saying quietly, "No one should talk to anyone that way, think about what _he_ would do if he found out."

_He? Who's He? Does Lily have a boyfriend?_

Lily looked suddenly angry, "_He?_" she said in a hushed tone and scowled, "nothing, I expect! _He_ hasn't spoken to me in weeks!"

"Oh, Lily, he's only busy," Marlene said, "he's got Head duties too, plus he's Quidditch captain, you know, that takes time! And he's managing to stay at the top of the class in Transfig—well, everything, actually."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. She missed him! Lily was angry with him for not paying much attention to her in the last few weeks. This news both pleased him and made him feel a little guilty. He imagined she probably feels embarrassed for crying that night in his bed, but she had no reason. He liked it! Not that she was sad and crying, but because she had opened up to him.

As the girls continued talking, James stopped his wild thoughts and listened.

"You should really tell him about those boys, Lily, really," Alice said again in a small voice, "They were harassing you, you can't just sit there and take it, and you never would have before!"

Lily ignored her.

"Boy, if someone was talking about me like that, I'd—"

"Just drop it, Marly, please," Lily begged, "I can take care of myself!"

"Lily, they were talking about what they would do to you if you were naked!" Marlene fought back.

"What?!" James couldn't help, but interfere.

As soon as Marlene said the words, he saw red.

Lily, Marlene and Alice jumped and turned around to face James. Sirius, Remus and Peter were crowded around James and Frank was walking up the stairs behind them.

"Someone said what to you, Lily?" James asked, clenching his fists at his sides, seething with anger.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, just stop it, it doesn't matter! They were just being idiots."

"I'd tell him, Lil," Sirius advised.

Lily's eyes flashed and James knew what was coming. She was about to yell at him, but he watched at her mouth opened a few times and shut again. She had nothing to say.

She wasn't going to tell him.

"You can't just save me from everything, James," she says quietly, her cheeks turning red, "Especially since you haven't really been-been talking to me lately."

"Lily, it's not like that, I've been…" he was about to say 'planning and writing you letters for weeks because I want you to know how much I love you', but instead, he says, "busy, is all."

Lily manages a small smile, "I know."

And she turns around and disappears around the corner.

Alice and Marlene stayed behind, looking torn.

"Heath Rodgers and Richie Haskins were talking about her today in Arithmancy," Alice tells James, not looking at him.

"They were talking about bending her over and making her scream and taking turns on her," Marlene added when Alice couldn't speak anymore.

Haskins and Rodgers… Ravenclaw. James began to turn around, but Alice spoke again.

"I saw Remus put that letter into Lily's bag before our Arithmancy lesson," she said quickly.

James turned to look at her. She was standing there, incredibly small, but she knew what she was talking about, that Alice Fortescue.

"It's from you, isn't it?"

James nodded, his face heating, "I want her to know…"

Alice smiles, "She will, then. Don't give up."

Alice and Marlene left the five boys standing in the corridor, all of them looking shocked.

"I could've sworn that no one was looking," Remus said, breaking the silence.

He wasn't angry, but only amused and even impressed with Alice's observation that most anyone would ignore.

They were quiet for a few minutes, all of them looking in the direction the girls took off in.

"I'll marry her someday, I will," Frank said, a dreamy smile on his face.

The rest of them laughed or snorted.

"Let's find Haskins and Rodgers, shall we?" Sirius said.

And they turned around and went back to the Great Hall. Neither of the two boys was there, but the Ravenclaw Halley Criswell told them they had gone for a walk on the grounds after dinner.

And that is where they found the two Ravenclaw boys throwing stones into the lake. Rodgers looked up when he saw someone coming and his face immediately blanched when he saw it was James, accompanied by his friends… large and muscular James his four very large and muscular friends. James watched him swallow and smiled.

"Evening, gents," James said when he reached them.

Rodgers nudged Haskins and he jumped up, looking equally frightened as his friend.

"Eh, Potter…" he said, his voice only faltering a little, "boys," he nods at the others.

"We heard something today," Sirius said, "Any ideas to what that might've been?"

Haskins had a grin on his face for only a second, but it disappeared when James glared at him.

"What's funny about it, Haskins?" James asked him, taking a step forward.

"Hang on, Potter," Rodgers stopped him, "We were only having a bit of fun, and we would never actually do anything about it, trust me."

"So don't you fucking talk about it, about _her_," James spat back, "don't you even look at her!"

Haskins laughs, "Please, Potter, what makes you think you can do all those things, but we can't?"

Anger boiled up inside James.

"You're not helping your case, I'm afraid," Remus tells Haskins, "you may want to take that bit back."

"Fuck you all," Haskins says, "She must be really good if she's the only one you want, eh, Potter?"

James flung himself at Haskins then, as he should. Any bloke that would talk like that about his girl was going to get a beating.

Rodgers tried to join in the tumble, but Sirius stopped him, pointing his wand at Rodgers. James threw punch after punch at Haskins, who already had a bloody nose and a bruising eye.

"Prongs, that's good," he heard Remus say from somewhere behind him.

He stopped throwing his fists, breathing heavily and anger still capturing him.

"You're here, beating the shit out of me," Haskins said quietly from underneath James, "while you could be with her, up in your Common Room… then you would know she's truly yours and you wouldn't need to beat everyone else up."

"Shut your fucking mouth, Haskins," James growled, "Don't talk about her like you know her… or me. And yes, I would. I would defend her against anyone that says something about her that I don't like. Stay away from her and you won't lose any more blood, you piece of shit."

James got off of him then and turned around and walked angrily back up to the castle. He didn't even stop to wonder if his friends were following him, but he didn't care.

Was Haskins right? Was James only being insecure or was he really defending Lily's honor?

"Both," James admitted moodily to himself before giving the fat lady the password.

As soon as he entered the Common Room, he found her.

She was curled up in her usual chair by the fire, a small piece of paper open in her lap. And in her other hand, the small single red rose. She had a small smile on her face and she looked as though she had been re-reading the letter over and over again. James watched for only a moment longer… he didn't want to be seen by her, just in case she suspected the letter was from him.

It was too soon for that. She had to find out at the perfect moment.

So James when on up to his dormitory and straight to his bed. Yes, he was an insecure teenage boy, in love with the same girl since he was eleven. And yes, he was worried that because he didn't have her, then someone else would. He couldn't have that.

But as he watched her read his letter, he felt hope well up inside him.

She would be his one day. For the rest of days.

_Lily, my lovely Lily_

_I watch you_

_I've watched you for years_

_Your smile makes my heart beat faster_

_Your eyes make me feel the same emotions you're feeling_

_I've memorized your expressions and each and every sweater that you own_

_My heart yearns for yours _

_I ache for your touch, in ways you couldn't imagine_

_You are everything that I've been looking for_

_I used to think of you as an Angel _

_But now I know and I don't have to wonder_

_Someday, I'm going to make you mine_

_My Lily, my lovely Lily_

Lily smiled after reading the letter for the fifteenth time then she pulled it to her face and inhaled… there was something vaguely familiar about the scent of this letter.

She glanced up at towards the boys' dormitories and smiled softly, feeling much better than she had in weeks.

**A/N: Ahhhh, things are heating up! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Leave a review and let me know what you think… the more reviews, the sooner the next chapter will be out. **

**If you enjoy Hunger Games fanfics as well, check out my AU's on Katniss and Peeta and let me know what you think about those too!**

**Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!**

**See you next time!**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Let Me Tell You a Story of a Doe and Red Hair

James had already left five letters for Lily Evans. It wasn't turning out as he had planned origionally... he wanted to give all his letters to her every day for ten days, but as it turns out, writing these romantic letters takes way more time and effort than he planned. But with each one, he had watched her as she found them; one strategically placed right underneath her morning cup of tea, one inside her cauldron in Potions class (which almost became part of the ingredients to a complicated potion that Professor Slughorn had given for an assignment, but Lily saw it right before adding the hag's fingernails) and also one that James had placed himself inside her _Anna Karenina _novel when she had left it lying in the common room. Every time she spotted the letter with a red rose, James would watch her cheeks warm with color and she would look nervously around the room, biting her lip all the while figuring out who could possibly have left it. He had written about her eyes, her smile and her laugh since the last letter, but today's letter was a special one because it was James' favorite thing about her—physically anyway.

He couldn't help but think that this was all getting a little ridiculous at times. He started to wish he could tell her all these things himself so she really knew it was from him, instead of some other bloke roaming around the school admiring her. But he did keep reminding himself that on the tenth day, along with his last letter, he would tell her everything.

It was already nearing the end of October now and with Halloween around the corner; James' schedule was getting more and more hectic with each passing minute. And with his mind preoccupied with Lily's reactions to his letters, James was (for the first time in his life) finding it difficult to balance school work, Quidditch, Head duties and all things Lily Evans. Plus, he had pranks to pull with his mates… Speaking of pranks, they were currently in the middle of planning one.

"I say we go along the outside and work our way in," Sirius was saying excitedly, "that way, they won't see it coming right away."

"The element of surprise…" James agrees while nodding, "Very good, Padfoot."

"And what about the outer row—that's the Slytherins, isn't it?" Peter interjects.

Remus, James and Sirius all nod at their friend.

"So they'll get it first," Remus says, smirking.

The four of them looked one last time at the drawn up diagram of the Great Hall during the Halloween Feast and all at once, they grinned.

Lily Evans woke that morning feeling very strange indeed. She had had a wonderful dream and for the first time since her parent's deaths, she felt very well rested. She wondered if it was because she had been dreaming about herself sleeping in a very unusual, but comfortable bed she had ever been in. She was in a large bedroom that was painted in rich tans and browns, mahogany trim around the entire room. A matching mahogany framed fireplace was in the corner of the room with large flames, warming the room and bathing it with dim light. Even the carpets looked warm and fluffy, the richest of feeling. But the bed was the most appealing piece of furniture in the room, with its mahogany four poster frame. Vines and flowers and leaves were carved into the fine wood by the best of craftsman with rich brown hangings on either side of the bed, but they were left tied open, and she had the feeling that she had left them open because she was waiting for someone. The bedding was of course made with the finest linens and the colors were the same deep brown shade of the hangings and the curtains on the large windows. Her pillow was large and fluffy and she held one close to her wishing it was someone else. There were paintings on the walls; beautiful art that brought the woods, trees, color and warmth to the bedroom. The paintings were enchanted so that the tree's leaves would change with the season and right now the trees were the richest of fall colors, red and yellow and orange.

Lily stared up at the ceiling of the girls' dormitory, wishing that she were staring at the large antique chandelier from her dream. Now awake, she wished that she was back into that dream. What a strange week so far… She has received letters from a secret admirer, but still hasn't been able to really guess who they were from. They were all in the same handwriting, although she didn't recognize it. Of course, there are people who she can only wish they are coming from… more like one person. But there's no way that James Potter would do something like this. Number one, he just didn't have the time. And two, it's not his writing, although he would enchant a quill to take on a different form. Three, his interest in her wasn't like it used to be. He spoke to her, yes, but he was no longer making it completely obvious that he fancied her at all. In fact, it was over six months since the last time that James Potter asked her out. There was another possibility that the letters came from Amos Diggory or Gunner Greene, who were constantly badgering her about who she's going to the first Hogsmeade visit with on Halloween. The letters could be from one of them, unfortunately for her. It had also very briefly crossed her mind that it was Snape who was sending her these letters.

That is, until she found her book lying in the common after getting dressed and ready for the day. The book was lying in her usual chair by the fire, just where she had forgotten it last night, but there was a small rose with a letter shut in between two pages. When she picked up the letter, she noticed a line of her book was underlined.

_He stepped down, trying his best not to look very long at her, as if she were the sun. But he saw her like he saw the sun, even without looking._

She looked around and when she found that no one else in the common room was paying her any mind, she hastily opened the letter and read.

_I hear your voice in my sleep, and while awake, while eating and while flying. I hear it… constantly. Instead of my own voice of reason, it's yours, although admittedly I have trouble listening to it._

_I see your hair, the best shade of red. I see it in my dreams, draped across my chest while we sleep. I close my eyes and imagine you brushing your hair after a bath and tying it in a long braid for a relaxing day. I pretend to feel your hair running through my fingers… and sometimes, I swear I can truly feel it. I have known you for a long time, but only recently have we grown closer. I wish to grow together more if it's what you would wish once you know who I am. There is so much to say… and I'm afraid I do not have the way with words._

_But it's clear now that my feelings for you are true and will never change. Developing a friendship with you has been… heaven. And in truth, knowing all I know now about you, it's made my feelings even stronger._

She re-read the words again and again and brought the parchment to her nose, inhaling the scent as she did with the previous letters. She was friends with him… more recently. He flies. And he must live in Gryffindor if he was able to hide the letter inside her book… unless… unless he got someone to come in and get it. She looks up again at the entrance to the boys' dormitories, where she finds the door closed. She stares at it, hoping that maybe, just maybe James Potter was the one who wrote these letters. But even the thought of it seem preposterous—James Potter writing love notes! Please. Lily shut the letter and the rose back inside her book and stuffed the book into her bag before heading towards the portrait hole and down to breakfast.

Little did she know that an invisible James Potter was standing directly behind her as she read his letter, close enough to hear her breathing change as she read and to smell her strawberry shampoo.

The following day in another demanding and exhausting lesson of Defense, Professor Carrow was teaching the Patronus Charm. This topic was normally practiced in Professor Flitwick's classroom, but Carrow had proudly (and moodily) announced that the Charm was not being taught properly and that he had taken over the topic. His students glared at him the entire lecture before he announced they would be split up into pairs.

"Pettigrew with Fortescue. Black, you go with Avery over there, don't give me that look, Black," Carrow instructs, going through everyone in the class, "Lupin with Snape. Longbottom, you go with Zabini. Potter, you go with… "

"Evans?" James replied with a cheeky grin.

In his peripheral vision, James saw Lily's head jerk up from her desk. Carrow narrowed his eyes and looked between James and Lily, wondering if this would be a good idea or not. But after a moment, Carrow's answering grin made James very uneasy.

"Potter and Evans," he agreed.

James looked at Lily, who was just standing from her chair. With the wave of Carrow's wand, the tables and chairs stacked themselves against the walls, creating much more space for them to practice.

"Now, don't be surprised or disappointed should you not achieve you corporeal Patronus just yet," Carrow goes on, standing in the middle of the room, "This is very advanced magic, but I would hope by the end of the year, you should all have mastered it. Can anyone tell me what a Patronus is used for?"

Several hands appeared in the air.

"Mr. Lupin?"

"A Patronus is used as protection, sir," Remus explains, and he sounds as though he's talking to his teacher with respect, however, anyone who knows Remus well enough can recognize the definite bite in his voice, "your Patronus is like your guide, or guardian. It will protect you from Dementors, but also from Lethifolds. In fact, it's the only…"

"Only protection from Lethifolds, yes indeed," Carrow interrupts with another strange smirk, "Now form two lines, facing your partners. I want you to try and think about something happy… that's what helps create and hold your Patronus form."

James lined up across from Lily, who was biting her lip and looking nervous. He thought of his happy thought… her. He smiled at her to reassure her.

"And all together, say the incantation, you all know it from your Charms lesson," Carrow continues, "one partner at a time now."

"You ready?" James asks Lily, who nods.

James raises his wand and with his happiest thought in mind, he says loudly, "Expecto Patronum!"

A large silvery creature erupts from the end of his wand, a Stag. The animal is beautiful; large, silver and shimmering with the glow from the lights. The stag pranced around once, before coming to a stop right in front of James, his large spread of antlers reaching taller than James can stand.

"Well, well," Carrow's voice interrupts James from admiring his Patronus, "it looks as though Potter, Lupin and Black are already able to form their true Patronuses. Well done."

Anyone could tell that their Professor wasn't really at all pleased about this, but nonetheless, James, Sirius and Remus were all very pleased to hear the scowl behind their teacher's tone.

"Next partner! Move on!" Carrow shouts.

Lily closes her eyes to concentrate. She's tried the Patronus Charm herself before but was never able to conjure one. A happy thought? She wracked her brain for when she's ever felt happiest, but the truth was… she's forgotten. Or maybe has never quite felt happy enough. Her parents? No, she couldn't really think of them because… well because they were dead. She could imagine they're alive all she wants but it all comes back to them really, truly being dead. And Petunia? A shudder runs through her at the thought and she's suddenly angry, sad and her feelings are hurt yet again. She feels like rubbish because she's not even a good enough witch to think of one happy thought.

"It's okay," a deep voice says into her ear.

Lily straightens at the sound and her eyes begin to open, but…

"No, keep your eyes closed," James says quickly, but softly, "Just envision yourself… where is your favorite place? What are you doing? And, if anyone, who's with you?"

Lily takes a deep breath, thinking. Hmm… her dream last night was a very happy one, although was a dream a real thought? Did her happy thought have to be real?

"I had a dream last night," Lily answers his questions quietly, "I was in this… bedroom, all dark and warm with mahogany—"

"Don't tell me, Lily," James reluctantly interrupts, "It's your happy thought, yeah?"

He desperately wanted to hear more… more about Lily's dreams in general, but this one in particular because his bedroom at home just happened to be furnished in all mahogany.

Lily nods, thinking some more. What's she doing in her happy place? And who's with her?

She's lying there after a long day. The room is warm from the fire and she's comfortable, safe. And because of this sort of happy, tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach right now (no doubt because of the masculine voice whispering instructions in her ear) she knows exactly who she would want to be with. She suddenly imagines James Potter in that warm happy place of hers. And it's odd, but it feels as though he belongs there.

"O-okay," she says, her voice shaky, as thought it may be possible for him to know exactly what she's thinking, "I've got it."

She opens her eyes to see that James had already taken several steps back, but even from here, she can still see that his normally light hazel eyes are now a burning honey. It makes her mouth water and dry at the same time and she has to mask her sharp intake of breath with some sort of cough.

Lily maintains eye contact with James all the while lifting her wand, circling it the way that Flitwick had taught her when performing the most difficult charms, her happy thought at the front of her mind.

"Expecto Patronum!"

And a large, yet feminine creature appears. She's beautiful, silvery white and smoke like, but clearly visible. The Doe slowly walks to face Lily, who reaches out. She gently touches the doe's ear, expecting it to feel like a ghost, cold and wet. But instead she feels the fur, the heat of the animal. Her doe is gentle and when Lily runs her hand along her Patronus' neck, the doe moves into Lily as if saying hello and hugging Lily closer with her nose.

James watches in awe. There's just no way… there's no way that they would have matching Patronuses. Did that even mean anything? He wasn't even sure. Was it just fate? But as he watches Lily greeting her guardian, James can't help but let himself think that maybe this wasn't just fate. Maybe she loves him. And when you feel so strongly for a person, your Patronus form changes to match that of your love's Patronus form. His thoughts are interrupted when Lily laughs, always a sound that halted him in his tracks. She's laughing as her Doe nuzzles closer to Lily's hand.

And James has a sudden idea. When his Patronus interacts with Sirius' dog, they play, wrestle, fight. All the things James and Sirius do. So if he performed his Patronus, what would his Stag be doing with Lily's Doe?

"Expecto Patronum," he says quietly, not wanting to interrupt Lily.

The giant Stag appeared out of the end of his wand yet again. The animal gazed around, as if looking for danger, until its eyes finally landed on the Doe across the room. It froze, as if in a trance. Then, after a moment of staring, the Stag walked forward slowly. The Doe looks up when she feels something looking that direction and she turns to face the Stag. The Doe's eyes blink once before her eyes are trained on the floor, as if she's shy. She's shy like her owner. When the Stag reaches the Doe, he leans down in order to use his nose to lift her head… to make her look at him. The action is so like what James had just done for Lily to help her imagine a happy thought to produce her Patronus. The scene before them seems so intimate… so familiar.

James looks up to find Lily looking back at him, wide eyed and mouth open. Although, he's not entirely sure that she's breathing. James tries to tell her with one look.

_See them? See what he was like when he first saw her? That's what this is like… that's the way I love you._

But loud clapping interrupts them. Professor Carrow is clapping slowly and James looks around to see the entire class watching them, eyes wide. Carrow is the only one who's not impressed… well besides most of the Slytherins and in particular, Severus Snape.

"Well done," he says coolly, "Two corporeal, _matching_ Patronuses… very well done."

James looks at Lily again, her eyes are watery, her cheeks bright red. With the flick of his wand, the Stag vanishes and when he does, the Doe does too.

They are all saved by the sound of the bell, signaling that this lesson was over.

"Potter, a word, if you please?" Carrow asks as students grabbed their bags quickly before practically running out into the corridor.

James watches Lily pack up her bag and leave quietly with Marlene and Alice. Sirius, Remus and Peter wait at the door for James, but he waves them on ahead.

"See you in the Great Hall," he tells Sirius, who waits for one more confirmation from James to leave.

When they're finally alone, Carrow motions for James to have a seat in front of his desk, but James shakes his head stiffly.

"I'll stand, sir."

"If you insist," Carrow responds, while taking his seat behind the desk, "I wanted to talk to you, Potter, and I knew when I saw today's lesson that I need to make this soon. About the Evans girl…"

James narrows his eyes and his fists clench behind his back, his jaw tense.

"Lily."

"Yes, Lily Evans," Carrow says coolly, "it's very obvious, your feelings for her and it's safe to say that she's starting to feel the same, given the appearance of her Patronus."

"I'm sorry, _Professor_, but I'm not sure why any of that should be your concern," James growls.

"Easy, Potter," Carrow says, sitting up in his chair, "I'm your Professor and I'm supposed to prepare you for what's out there… and fraternizing with a mud—_muggleborn_—like herself would be a poor decision for the both of you."

James can't believe this. Carrow has the nerve to talk to him about Lily, and there's no way James missed the fact that he had almost used the word Mudblood.

"I know your parents, James and I must tell you… given their roles in the Ministry, you've already got a target on your back for the other side. Your relations with _that girl_ will not help you… you will be a bigger target and you will be killed."

"I don't give a f—"

"Or worse!" Carrow interrupts James' outburst, "You could get her killed… let's face it. She's not prepared for what's out there. She's too weak."

James' hands slam hard on the desk, making Carrow jump, "She's not weak!" He yells back, seething with anger.

And before he can say anything else, James turns on his heel and strides out of the room with his bag over his shoulder. But he doesn't miss Carrow's last words.

"It'll be all your fault, Potter."

Lily hadn't given herself time to think about what had happened in their Defense lesson three days ago. She had more pressing matters that bothered her. For one, the letters had suddenly stopped. And for two, James Potter seemed to be avoiding her. She wasn't sure what she hated the most, but all of these things just seemed a bit much for her to handle.

It was three days ago and the matching Patronuses seems to be all people can talk about. James and Lily are the talk of the entire school, even amongst teachers. She thought that maybe James was embarrassed to have a matching Patronus to hers. But that couldn't be it… she had still caught him looking at her when he thought she couldn't see. And she swears she can smell his scent whenever she's doing rounds in the corridors at night, like he's there with her, but she just can't see him.

She doesn't understand. He helped her with her Patronus and it just so happens that their forms match, but really so what? That probably means nothing. But even Lily know that she definitely wants it to mean something and she wants it to mean something to James too. She knew she'd get her hopes up when reading those letters… from James Potter?

But maybe they were… maybe they were from him. And he saw her Patronus thinking that hers matched his because she- she's… in love with him? And now he's backed off. Because of course, when she finally realizes how she feels about him, he's done with her. Just like that?

The thoughts are exhausting and she's had terrible dreams of black cloaks, car crashes, and flashes of green light since.

It's not until their Head meeting together the night before Halloween that Lily really comes to the conclusion that James Potter is no longer interested in her anymore. They are packing up their things after discussing new schedules for the Prefects to check corridors after hours. The tension has been thick for Lily, but James has acted like nothing's happened.

"Have you got plans for the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow, Lily?" he suddenly asks her.

She looks up, not believing her ears. Did he really just as her that? Is he going to ask her to go with him? Finally, when there's no one else to listen?

"N-no, just going with friends," she says, trying to sound casual though her heart is beating fast, "Alice needs a new quill and Emmeline wants to send her brother some sweets for his birthday."

James nods and smirks, "Sirius is finally taking Marlene?"

Lily laughs, "So it would appear… she's excited, but she doesn't want him to know that just yet."

They're quiet again and shuffling papers.

James wants to ask her… he's dying to. And part of him thinks she's waiting for him to ask her to join him. But he can't… ever since that stupid great prick suggested that it would be because of James that Lily would get hurt or even killed. He's been standoffish with her, afraid that Carrow might be right. He's even burned the letters that he had planned on sending Lily, after fighting with the boys about doing so.

_Ask her… just ask her, you know you want to. You can keep her safe._

"No date then?" he asks her.

She shakes her head and it looks as though she's holding her breath.

"Me neither."

They are quiet and staring at each other and it's painfully obvious what each of them want. And it's also obvious that each of them wants to give each other what they want, but they don't. This wouldn't be the time where James Potter finally gets the girl. This isn't the part of the story where the prince sweeps his lady off her feet and ride off together into the sunset on a white horse. This isn't where the stubborn girl finally gives into her lover's charm. There's so much more to the story first.

So he says, "See you later then."

She stares after him as he leaves, breathing heavily and tears in her eyes as she wishes, just wishes he would ask her out again just one last time. Because she swore that she wouldn't waste the opportunity to say yes another time.

Now is the time, however, for the Maurauders very last Halloween prank to be pulled during their time at Hogwarts. The students and staff have just sat down for another feast, even after having full bellies from the mounds of sweets and butterbeer (in the Maurauders' case, firewhisky, because Rosmerta just can't resist their charm) that was consumed while on their trips to the village.

Lily had indeed gone with Alice and Emmeline, but she did run into James, Remus and Peter from time to time. They would share timid smiles, and he playfully nudged her shoulder when they were all at Zonko's Joke Shop and looking at a new trick wand. After that, she didn't see James until the feast would start, where he sat just a few seats down from him and at the opposite end of the table.

The wind outside today had been cold and Lily's cheeks were pink, just the way James had liked them. The freckles on her nose were fading because the weather was growing cooler. Her hair had been braided neatly that morning, but now, still in a braid, but messy and strands fall out to frame her face. He watches her laugh with her friends, no doubt Marlene telling the other girls how awful her date was with Sirius.

Because he was Sirius Black, he had to be careful when taking a girl he actually liked out on a date. First of all, he hadn't been on a date before. Second, Marlene was the only girl that he actually wanted to date. He knew it and everyone else knew it, but he still made an ass of himself. He talked about stupid things he and the boys got up to… _the worse things_, mind you, like sneaking into a gentleman's club in the city two summers ago, only to be kicked out because they had no muggle money. Oh, and then there was the fact that when he saw any girl he had previously 'hooked up with' in a broom cupboard, he would chat her up and Marlene isn't too naïve to notice that this was when Sirius seemed to be the most at ease. It was confusing to her. He asked her to Hogsmeade, she said yes… and before you know it, he's twitchy, chatty and talking to other girls when he should be talking to her.

James understood this. It was rather similar to his own situation with Lily. When there is one girl you want, but said girl is rather stubborn and intimidating… you sort of make a fool of yourself.

Sirius thinks the date went rather well, so James isn't going to spoil his good mood now.

Finally, with a clinking to his goblet, Dumbledore stands and addresses his students.

"I do hope that you've all had a wonderful time in the village, but I should assume you've all got full bellies," he says with a twinkle in his eye, then turning to McGonagall, saying "Perhaps we should post-pone this affair to another night when everyone is hungry…"

"No!" Several shouts are heard around the Great Hall, the loudest coming from the four Marauders.

Dumbledore chuckles and with a wave of his hand, plates and platters appear with mountains of food, pastries, treats… even the hollowed pumpkins fill with some of the finest treats from Honeyduke's. For just a while, it seems as though all the differences between houses and bloodlines are all forgotten. Everyone is smiling, laughing and eating. And it's not until people are starting their desserts and teacups appear with coffee or tea when Sirius nudges Remus in the ribs… then Remus kicks Peter's foot… and Peter turns to James…

"Alright, Pronsie," Peter whispers, "Go on."

James smiles and looks around at his three friends, who nod excitedly. And hiding his wand under the table, James puts use to his now mastered non-verbal spells skill. And quite suddenly music starts to play and the pumpkins hanging from the ceiling are… dancing.

Some of them waltz together, others sashay here and there and others look as though at a disco. James looks around the room to see all eyes are turned up, laughing at the dancing pumpkins. James watches Lily and when she feels his eyes on her, she returns her gaze and immediately she knows that this is one of his pranks.

But then, even more suddenly, every single pumpkin explodes in the air! But instead of pumpkin guts and seeds spitting out of them, it's blackish, silver dust… shimmering in the light and painting everything around them a dark charcoal hue. That was Remus' bit.

And there's a pause while the excitement and the chatter dies down in the room. Some are expecting more, knowing that this is the Marauders' plan and it doesn't just end with that. And just when people start to relax and enjoy their desserts and after dinner drinks, there are several snapping noises and gasps and squeals of pain. It starts and the Slytherin table and makes its way to Ravenclaw then Hufflepuff and then to the Gryffindor table. One of those squeals coming from Lily, causing James to whip his head back around to see if she'd been hurt too badly by Sirius' plan… But she isn't. She was laughing, quite hysterically in fact. James laughs watching her.

You see, Sirius wanted something quite funny and unexpected to happen when people took drinks from their teacups so he's enchanted them to take a bite at people's noses when they drink. (A few years after this, some bloke has a similar idea and creates a line of teacups that do the same… except it's patented and Sirius cannot take ownership. So let it be known now that he's the first who came up with the Nose-Biting Teacup.)

And last, but not least Peter mumbles a few words under his breath (that James had to teach him) and the biggest and brightest fireworks appeared in the ceiling of the Great Hall, a grand finale.

Later that night in the common room of Gryffindor tower, James watches Lily from across the room. She's reading and slowly sipping on a cup of tea. After each sip, she holds the teacup out in front of her and smiles fondly at it. To an outsider this would look rather strange, but as James watches her (like every night) he can't help but think that this is her way of admiring him.

And now Lily Evans knows she's in love with James Potter. James Potter is absolutely certain that he's always been in love with Lily Evans.

But neither of them knows that they would soon be together.

And especially… neither of them knows that four years from right this very moment, there would be a black-cloaked wizard barging into their house and that they would die together and be together forever.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: A Stag, a Dog, a Rat and a Werewolf

It was now mid-November and the weather was beginning to be cold, wet and rainy, a sure sign that winter was right around the corner. Of course, weather like this would happen every year around this time but it's also because Dementors have been strategically placed at all entrances of the school grounds. The decision was made by Dumbledore after mysterious murders and disappearances started happing every other second in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. There was a new story in the headlines every morning now about muggle families murdered, but had no past illnesses. They were never poisoned, drown, shot, stabbed, nothing… just dead.

Then on a particularly messy day… the first Quidditch match of the season was almost freezing and rainy and it was almost impossible to see a thing with the wind blowing the rain around. Remus had to charm James' glasses to repel water, but even with that, it was difficult. And of course, Gryffindor caught the snitch as quickly as possible, but not before James had scored a few goals himself.

So after the match, James had gone off to the locker rooms to shower and change. The other boys were waiting for him when he was finished so they walked back to Gryffindor tower together, but were stopped in the Entrance Hall by a large group of students, along with Professor McGonagall. The chatter was frantic, as though people were panicking.

"Apparently, it was like… poof! And they were gone!"

"It's like they were just gobbled up by something… or someone!"

"That's just silly! Three people all disappear at the same time!"

"And different dormitories!"

The chatter was broken when Professor McGonagall stood on the highest step to speak.

"Your attention, please!" she stated loud and clear for everyone to hear, "It has been discovered that in the last twelve hours, three students have gone missing. The rest of you will gather in the Great Hall for the evening while the castle is being searched…"

There are several murmurs around the hall while McGonagall pauses.

"The students that have disappeared are Heather Steele, Monte Edgar and Beth Forbes! If any of you have information about these students then please talk to your Head of House, the Head boy or girl, or even a Prefect. This is highly irregular and we appreciate any and all cooperation while this matter is sorted… Now into the Great Hall! All of you! More students will join you shortly! Our Head Boy and Head Girl will be in charge…" and when she spots James, she makes her way over to him and says, "Potter, you make sure everyone stays in the Great Hall. No one is to leave! We're not sure what we're dealing with here."

James looks around at Sirius, Peter and Remus, who look back at him with confused and worried looks. The four older boys usher first and second years into the Great Hall. They are small and scared and James can't help but pat a few of their small heads as a way to tell them it's going to be okay. They do as they're told and go into the Great Hall, but as James closes and charms the doors locked behind him, he can't help but feel like something isn't quite right. And suddenly, Sirius, who was walking right before James, stops very quickly so James doesn't have time to keep from running into him.

"Damn it, Pads…"

"Shh! I've just realized," he says quickly and quietly so only his friends can hear him, "All those students who disappeared… what do they all have in common?"

James wracked his brain, but truth be told, he didn't really know the students who had gone missing.

"They're muggleborns!" Sirius says quietly.

And it only takes a second for James to process this information before he's looking around frantically for red hair and green eyes. He tells the boys to split up and look for her and they do. There are people everywhere, looking scared and worried and definitely confused… this is all happening so quickly and out of the blue. Most of the students sit at the tables and try to stay calm but there's a select few that are up and about moving around and crying their eyes out.

Who would do this? If those three students were indeed all muggleborn then who would want to just steal them away or… were they killed? James read all those crazy things in the muggle newspapers before about people, woman especially going missing then turning up… raped, beaten and found in a dumpster. But at Hogwarts? No way, things like this just didn't happen.

And he's starting to panic because he can't find her… where the hell is she? And he didn't tell her he loved her or any of the other things he's always wanted to say. He never got to ask her about that lovely dream about mahogany furniture she had a few weeks ago… it's been bothering him since she mentioned it. He never truly got to feel her skin or kiss her lips or run his hand through her hair or down her back just because he could. He's always wanted to grab her bum and give it a good squeeze… and he doesn't even want to think about what he's never gotten to do to her in the privacy of a broom cupboard or a bedroom. Oh, Godric, where is she?

The room around him starts to spin as his hands pull at his already disheveled hair. He's finding it extremely difficult to breathe.

And quite suddenly he hears a soft voice speaking to a few students. It's hers and all the tension leaves his shoulders while he listens to her comforting a handful of first years.

"It's alright," she's saying softly, hugging a small girl into her side, "They'll turn up, you'll see… and Dumbledore will put a stop to everything and we'll be safe."

The little girl didn't speak, but Lily continues to rub her small shoulder. When she spots James standing just a few feet away, she feels the tension leave her body as well. She was worried about him, walking back to the castle later than everyone else, maybe alone. He could have been captured or… or…

She would've never gotten the chance to tell him she's fallen in love with him. She would've told him how quickly it was and how she realized it at the silliest possible moment, but it's true. She loves him. But if something happened… she would never have gotten to take his glasses off his nose when he fell asleep on the couch or feel his arms surround her when he joined her in bed at night. Or feel his weight moving above her… inside her… slowly and gently.

She lets out air she didn't know she was holding when he looks at her. His eyes are wide, fearful… then very suddenly they change to that dark burning honey color and he looks almost angry with her.

"Where the hell were you, Evans?"

Her mouth falls open and her own wide and fearful eyes turn into something more… that flash of green that James Potter has always loved.

"What do you mean…? _Potter_? I've been right here!"

He walks closer to her as she gets up and separates herself from the small girl, who now looks mildly interested in their argument. James gets close enough to her to see every faded freckle on her nose and can practically count her eyelashes and damn it, he just wants to kiss her… throw her up against a wall and just snog the legs right out from under her. But he doesn't… and shouldn't and really just can't. So he's going to be mad at her.

But he closes his eyes once, briefly and when he opens them again, Lily sees his relief. His eyes are back to that normal hazel color and her anger melts too.

"I was just worried, is all…" he says, shrugging.

She reaches up to his face because she sees that he needs comforting too. She rests her hand on his cheek and his eyes flicker shut as his head leans into the palm of her hand, as though it just can't help it. And very slowly, his own hand reaches hers, holds it in front of him and he kisses the inside of her wrist and all is forgotten.

But then they snap out of their own reveries because they have Head duties to attend to, after all, and it just wouldn't be proper for the Head boy and girl to declare their love for each other and make out in front of everyone.

Late into the evening, the students are all excused from the Great Hall back to their respective houses, where dinner will be brought up to them. It was announced that all three of the missing students had indeed gone missing, their parents' informed and security on the school would be doubled. More Dementors and even Aurors were taking posts at every entrance. James and Lily called an emergency Prefects meeting the very next morning and changed the rounds schedule so that no one would be on walking the corridors on their own.

And it wasn't long until everyone learned that the three missing students were muggleborns. In the following weeks, Lily would also realize that one of the four Marauders were with her at all times. It was almost as if James had told them to help keep her safe. The thought both angered her and flattered her a little bit. He cared about her enough to make sure she was okay, but then again, he thought she wasn't strong enough to look after herself. So one night, while on rounds with a very ill looking Remus Lupin, she decides to ask him about it.

"Remus, may I ask you something?"

She watches him tense beside her, but he nods, "sure, what is it?"

"Did he put you up to this? All this following me around nonsense?"

Remus chuckles, but in his head, he's throwing up a red flag, "We're supposed to out on duty together now, Lily, you know that. That's the rules now…"

Lily shook her head, "No, no, I mean… all the time. Last night, Sirius followed me to the loo after dinner! And I swear he was in there the whole time until I came out. He made some excuse that he needed to talk to me about a Potions assignment. You know as well as I that he doesn't need any bloody help in Potions. And the night before, Peter sat across from me in the library and he wouldn't stop staring… didn't even blink! It was awful."

Remus didn't say anything.

"And you… you are practically sitting on my lap in Arithmancy since the day those students disappeared," she goes on, ignoring Remus' wince, "And don't even get me started on James… watching my every move and even worse, watching everyone else who's around me! He's completely lost it, hasn't he? "

Remus shrugs and mumbles something like James being under a lot of stress about things. And Lily takes a moment to really look at Remus, and it's then that she notices how pale he is and that he's slightly sweaty.

"Remus, are you feeling alright?" she asks, stopping and touching her hand to his forehead.

He takes a step back from her, startled and a little taken aback by her kindness. No one, other than his three best friends, ever gave him the impression that he might be normal. Or that maybe it would be alright to tell her his deepest, darkest secret. That thought makes him absolutely certain that James has done very well in choosing who he wants to be with the rest of his life.

"I, uh… I'm okay, just ill is all," he tells her, continuing on their rounds.

She follows him, but he knows that look in her eye… she's determined.

"Don't lie to me, Remus," she says, "I'm not stupid, you've been ill like this before… have you got some kind of bug? Or condition? My mother is…" she stops dead and her face pales before she continues in a softer voice, "I mean, _was_ diabetic and she also had other conditions that made her ill every once in a while."

"Don't worry about me, Lily," he assures her, "Just some sort of bug… don't worry."

Lily opens her mouth to argue and to press him for more information, but he stops and gives her a stern look.

"Lily, drop it…" he says, "It's none of your business."

She looked just as taken aback as he just was only a moment ago. But she closes her mouth and mutters an apology before taking off to finish the patrol.

Remus didn't mean to snap at Lily… if people every got nosy, he was able to joke about it. But Lily Evans just threw him completely off guard. There have been a few girls (two, to be exact) he's, well 'gotten to know' but when one of them wanted to know why they couldn't sleep in his dorm certain times during a month or why he wouldn't take their relationship further, he played it off like he didn't know what they were talking about. Normally, he wouldn't talk to them anymore either. But what could he do in this situation? He really liked Lily and knew that he should form a relationship with her if his best friend would someday marry her. But at the same time, he did not want Lily to hate him or be afraid of him, knowing his secret. Knowing what he is.

They don't speak for several minutes.

"C-can I ask you something else?" Lily hesitantly breaks the silence.

Remus is even more hesitant, but eventually he says, "Sure…"

"James…" Lily begins, "He's changed a bit, yeah?"

Remus smirks and is so very glad that this is where their conversation has gone, "What d'you mean?"

"Well, I… uh, just noticed, I suppose," she says awkwardly, "He's grown up a bit."

Lily isn't the kind of girl to ask a boy's friends if said boy likes her, so this is the best way she can think of to bring it up. But Remus doesn't respond.

"He, er- hasn't asked me out in a while, has he?"

Remus stops walking again and faces her, "I knew it!" he says quickly, pointing his finger at her accusingly.

Lily's eyes go wide and for a moment she looks positively frightened.

"_You like him!_ Oh my—shit! You _actually_ like him?!"

Lily's cheeks are a bright red and her green eyes are glued to the floor as they stand there, completely alone in the corridor. After a moment, she looks up at Remus, eyes still wide and beginning to fill with tears.

And that's when Remus knows… Lily Evans not only likes James Potter, but she's in love with him too.

"Please, don't tell him," she says quietly.

Remus deflates… oh, how he would love to hold this over James' head and sing 'I know something you don't know' at the top of his voice.

"Please, Remus…" she says again, "I-I know I should tell him, but… but I just can't right now."

So Remus, knowing full well how difficult it was for Lily to tell him this secret, thinks that maybe it's about time he shares his own.

"Okay, listen…" he begins, "I've, uh, got a secret too, but Lily, you really can't tell anyone about this… and I understand if you don't want to be… friends, or even around me anymore, but…"

He looks at her as she watches him. Her eyes are wide and concerned now.

"The reason I leave school… it's because, well I'm a—"

"Moony! There you are, mate!"

Sirius' voice interrupts them. Where did he come from? It's like he just appeared out of nowhere. He falls into step with them, his arm thrown around Lily's shoulder.

"Hey, Lily," he says, smiling cheekily at her like he always does, "Listen, Moony, you've got to cut your patrols short tonight… remember, we've got somewhere to be?"

Lily wasn't stupid enough to miss the obvious tone of Sirius' voice or the way his eyes bore themselves into Remus', seemingly saying 'come on, mate, we've got trouble to cause'.

"Right…" Remus said, catching on quickly, "that thing with…"

"Slughorn!"

"Hagrid!"

They shouted the other names at the exact same moment and then very quickly, Sirius made up some load of tosh.

"Yeah, you know, Lily, we're doing a detention for Slughorn for setting off dungbombs in the teacher's lounge the other day and, uh… we got lucky, I suppose, and we get to spend it with good ol' Hagrid," he said very quickly.

Lily narrowed her eyes at them, knowing that she's known them long enough now to know when they were lying or not.

"Come on then!" Sirius says quickly, grabbing Remus and pulling him away, "Sorry, Lily dear…"

Lily watches them walk away and then down the staircase before she rolls her eyes. Once she heads back to the common room, she realizes that this is the first time she's been left alone in a long while. The thought makes her both lonely and allows her to breathe. The common room is empty when she returns and when she makes her way into the girls' dormitories, she finds that it's also deserted. Then she remembers that Alice is studying with Frank in the library and Marlene made plans with Emmeline, Mary and a girl from Hufflepuff. Of course, everyone except for Lily has plans for a Friday evening.

Lily decides a nice hot bath would be just the thing she's needed. She fills the large claw-foot tub with her strawberry soap and lets it fill as she undresses. Once naked, she looks at herself in the mirror. She's never really thought of herself as anything spectacular… not like James thought of her. She always thought she was pretty, but just sort of plain. She was slim, her breasts average and her hips flared out just enough to give her some curves. Her skin is pale and her eyes almost too large for her head. Her red hair is tied in a knot at the top of her head so it doesn't get wet in the water. Lily scoffs just thinking how ridiculous she is for even caring… she's never cared before. Well, besides the time that James had told her she didn't need to wear make-up. So she never touched the stuff again.

As she settles down into the hot water, Lily starts to think about another body. A firm, tan-skinned, toned body. She can just imagine the lines of muscles in his stomach that make her mouth water. She imagines his strong arms, with the string veins she loves to see, moving with the movement in his arms. And it's not long before Lily is fantasizing about everything that has to do with James Potter's body. His lips, his strong jaw and that small dimple in the left side of his cheek when he smiles at her. She pretends her hand is his as she feels her breasts, squeezing, pinching, and pulling. It wasn't long until her hand drifted down between her legs and she gasps when they touch that special spot.

She's thought about what her first time would be like a thousand times… and it was always with James Potter. She imagined that he would be slow and gentle, admiring every curve and inch of her skin. She thought about the color of his eyes changing to that burning honey as he thrust himself inside her, every movement better than the last.

And what makes Lily come this time is just thinking about her name falling from James' lips after one last thrust of his hips.

A while later, Lily sits in the window sill reading one of her textbooks, but she becomes distracted by shadowy figures she sees down on the grounds. Of course, she's so far away that she swears she's got to be seeing things. But there's one tiny figure scurrying around, heading straight towards the Whomping Willow. And then suddenly, there's something chasing it… and it looks unmistakably like a dog. She tried to think of a student who owned a dog as a pet, but couldn't think of any. And besides, this dog didn't look like any normal dog… he was large and pitch black. But then… what on earth? She squints to get a better look…

What in the world is that?

It's a large stag and he's running after the dog, which's chasing the small rat. Lily shakes her head thinking about how crazy she is. Maybe she's seeing things. When she sees what time it is on the clock on the opposite wall, she realizes that it's almost midnight. Using the excuse that she's only seeing things because she's sleepy, she finishes her tea and continues to read. It isn't long until she's fallen asleep, her book lying open on her chest.

_And suddenly she's running, trees surround her, leaves blinding her from what lies ahead. But she knows exactly what's behind her… it's what she's running from. But she can't seem to run fast enough. She's breathing heavily and it isn't until she gets to a clearing that she's completely trapped. A large brick wall traps her and she turns around, searching frantically for an escape, but there is none._

_It isn't until she hears the growls from what's chasing her that she starts to panic. The sound is frightening, menacing. And then the source of the sound makes its appearance._

_A werewolf._

_His body is long and lunched over, hairy and dark. All Lily can really focus on is the werewolf's red eyes, glinting in the full moon's light. And then very quickly, he pounces on her. And all she can do is scream._

Lily wakes up to her own screams. The room is dark and she's still sitting in the window. After getting up too quickly, she notices the pain in her neck from the position she was in.

"Lily?"

She looks up to find Alice staring at her with wide eyes. Marlene, Emmeline, and Mary's bed hangings are all drawn, proving that they are still asleep. But Alice is still fully dressed and looks as though she's just got back. Lily looks at the time and it's almost two in the morning.

"Lily, are you okay?" Alice tries again, "You were screaming."

Lily nods, still breathing heavily from her dream, "Just a bad dream, Alice, I'm sorry…"

Alice looks at Lily sympathetically. She knows Lily has had trouble sleeping since her parents died over the summer. She's fallen asleep in that window sill almost every night since they've been back to Hogwarts for their last year. But Alice doesn't press her; she obviously doesn't want to talk about it… Not with her anyways.

"'Night, then," she says, before heading into the bathroom.

Lily manages a small smile in return. But she doesn't wait another minute before she's on her feet and putting her night coat over her nightgown. She's out the door before Alice has the time to return from the bathroom. She tiptoes down the girls' staircase, through the deserted common room and up the boys' staircase. She doesn't really think about what she's doing until she's standing in front of the seventh year boys' dormitory door. She thinks she's lost her mind, having never been this outgoing before, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And she's absolutely certain that this is the only place she'll feel at home enough to get a few hours of nightmare-free sleep.

She knocks once, but there's no answer. She knocks again, but again, there's no answer. So she opens the door to find a fire burning in the grate, but there's no one here. But then she hears the shower running in the bathroom and decides that it's probably Frank. She quickly gets into James' bed and under the covers, smiling at the picture of her on his bedside and the open window on the other side, letting in the fresh cool air. She's sound asleep before Frank can even come out of the bathroom and he doesn't even notice her anyways.

When James and two of his best mates return to Gryffindor tower at dawn, they are too tired to even say a word to each other. They each choose a shower stall to wash off all the dirt and grime from the night's adventure in the forest. James has to take special care with a nasty cut that formed on his ribcage where Moony got a little carried away in his werewolf state.

But when he comes out of the bathroom, dressed in only his boxer shorts for bed, Sirius is standing stock still facing James' bed.

"Oi, Prongs!" he hisses at James to get his attention.

"What?" James asks distractedly, not noticing the sleeping figure in his own bed.

"What the bloody fuck is Lily doing in your bed?"

This gets James' full attention. He looks at his bed in the far corner of the room and indeed, Lily's there sprawled out and legs tangled in the sheets. Her night coat is ruffled up so it's slipping off her shoulders and it's ridden up, showing off Lily's bare thighs. James goes over to her as quietly as he can without waking her and sets his glasses down on his bedside table before pulling back the corner of the blankets. He settles in right beside her and she doesn't even stir. She must be so exhausted.

Having her here in his bed, especially when he least expected it, is so surreal. And even after such a rough night, it's like nirvana lying next to her. He hasn't had enough interaction with her in the last few weeks and it's mostly his fault… actually, it's entirely his fault. He's been so stupid, taking Carrow's words to heart. But he really just couldn't bare it if Lily were hurt at all, let alone because of him.

But here she is… and he just can't stop himself.

He settles behind her, pulling her back to his chest so their bodies are completely flushed together. His hand travels the length of her sleeping body, from her shoulder and down to rest on the curve of her hip. He takes a moment to admire the contrast of her pale skin against his tan, almost brown skin tone. The window lets in the perfect amount of rising sun to view every single little freckly on her body and he glimpses a small scar right on her shoulder that he's never had the privilege to see before.

He doesn't even care that the sight of her waiting for him has made him hard as a rock in his boxer shorts. He doesn't even care if she can feel it. He doesn't even care if she wakes up and hexes the living daylights out of him because he's just laid down on a cloud in heaven… and that thought makes him think that without a doubt, there really is a place with pearly gates.

**A/N: Please take the time to review after reading... I would love to know how you feel. Also if you really like this story then tell others about it so they can read too! I would like to see alot more interest on this one since I love writing it and I want to keep writing it for all of you! Thanks for reading :)**


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